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6WZU

Sixth Annual Extra All-IBM Edition

Display until January 20,1990

EVTE

IBM Special Edition

REDEFINING THE STANDARDS

44C

237

Lab Tests: 15 33-MHz 80386-based Machines
Benchmark Results: 100 Different Computers

Plus: the 80486 • Extending DOS
SQL • Bus Mastering • OS/2
SuperVGA • Unix • More

$3.95 U.S.A.
$4.95 IN CANADA
£3.50 U.K.
0360-5280

THE DELL SYSTEM *325
25 MHz 386.

When vw need a truly high-performance

386 computer, tl , iL> is it.

STAN CARD FEATURES:

* Intel B0386 niiCTOpiGcessur mnnEng at
25 MIL.

* ChokeU 3 MB, 2 MB nr 4 MB vt RAM*
ejipiuiJLiHt; to 16 MB (using a dedicated
hiijh-Sfeed 32-hit memory ^lut).

■ Advanced Intel 82385 Gache Memory

L ^ intmller with 32 KB of high speed statu:
RAM cache.

* Rage nixie interleaved memory architecnife.

* V( 1A systems mcltJtk: a high perfumuince
Eh ■hit video adapter.

* Socket for 25 MHz Intel 80387 or 25 MHz
WHITER 316? math ctipruccssor.

■ 5.25" 1.2 MB or 3.5" 1 . 44 MB diskette drfvt.

* Dull! diskette and hard drive concnnller.

* EnhaiKoJ 101-kcy keyboard,

* E parallel and 2 serial ports,

* 200-ivzirr power supply.

1 8 industry stundnrJ expansion slots (6
available),

1 "Loot few us k«i iu.s SlW/mmith.

Lvimrii'd .SerriLi.' I’lun pricfog s [arts at 5 370-

40 MB VI W Mi io> hJus inie System >5.309

100 MB Vt -A QL>r Plus System 56.299

100 M B ftijntf \1 IA Q jU System
(8005(6001 $6,399

THE DELL SYSTEM* 316
16 MHz 386SX:"

Expandable, affordable access ro 3S6

architecture.

STANQARDFEATURES:

■ Intel 80 386SX mktciptocooOT running at
16 MHz

•Chnke L»t 1 MB, 2 MB or 4 MB of RAM*
expandable to 16 MB (8 MB on the system
board].

- R^e mode interleaved inenu iry andtitecturc-

* VGA systems include a high performance
16-bit: vkIci > adapter

* LIM 4.0 support for memory over l MB-

* Socket fttr 16 MHz Intel 80387SX math
copmcesi4.tr.

^JS-lJMBcyrSAU^MBdtdMtednvv

* Integrated high performance hand disk drive
interface and diskette controller cm system
Kurd. (ESDI based systems include a hard
disk controller. )

* Enhanced 101-key keyboard.

* l parallel and 2 senal pc>rr&,

* 2OO-w , 0tT pewr supply.

- 8 industry standard expansion skits (7
available).

•^Lraise far as Um us 596 rfnonth.

Emended Smtci r Plun fodruj stum m S2 34-

40 MBTTL Morsochtiime System $2,699

40 M B VGA Color Dos System $3,190

100 MB VGA Cglnr Fttis System $3,799

THE DELL SYSTEM® 220
2RMH:Z66.

It's bister than many 386computers, and has
a smaller kxitprinr.

STANDARD FEATURES:

► 80286 mkroptnaar running at 20 MHz.

■ Choke of 1 MB, 2 MB or 4 MR of RAM*
expandable to 16 MB (S MBon system
hoard).

4 Page mixle interleaved memory archirectuif-

* LIM 4.0 support for memory over I MB-.

4 Integrated diskette and VGA video con-
no) ler on system hoard

* Socket for Intel 80287 math coptccesor.

- One 3-5* 144 MB diskette drive,

■ Integrated high performance hard disk
interface on system board,

► Enhanced 101-key keyboard.

* 1 parallel and 1 serial purr* (integrated on
vprem. hoard)-

* 3 full-sized 16-bit AT expansion slats
available.

**J,easc for as low us $109 l month.

EalCThilfd Service PJuji |irinnj slum m $254-

40 MB VGA Morn thrume System $2,

40 MB VGA Color Plus System $ 3,296

ECO MB VGA Momxhnam- System 53,599
100 M B VGA Colt »r Plus System $ 3,899

Pncet listed reflect 1 MB of RAM. External
5.2 5" J. 2 M B diskette dri w available -

THE NEW PELL SYSTEM* 210
12.5 MIL 266.

Tlie price says this is an entry-level system.

The performance says ir's a kff nn>te.

STAN DARD FEATURES:

► Intel 80286 mkiopavessar running at
12.5 MHz.

► Choice of 512 KB, 640 KB+t, I MB or
2 MB of RAM expandable m 16 MR
(6 MB nn system K iani),

- l-hge mode inrerleaved memory architecture,

* LIM 4-0support for memory over ] MR

* hitegr L itoJ diskette and high performance 16'
bit VGA video controller on system hoard.

•Stukt-f ft ir 3 ntel 80267 math coprocessor.

- 5,25" L 2MB or 3.5* 1.44 M Bdiskette drive.

* Integrated high perk uTOrmce harddisk inter¬
face on system board,

■Enhanced lOhkeykryhotad.

* I parallel and 2 serial pons.

■ 3 full- shed 16-bit AT expansion skits
available,

fa* us lw UK $64‘Wjnlh.
fiftnvki Sen ice Rim fuicinjf iUird tu JjyfL

20 M B VGA Mi muxhrome System 51.699

20 MB VGA Color Plus System $ 1.999

40 MB VGA Munochmme System $ 1,899

40 MB VGA Cok >r Plus System $2,199

Pnces listed retlect 512 KB nt RAM.

++ f»40 KB versions of tlw above systems are

js-uiJiihlt: for an additional $H0.

150 MB Snfx'T Vt iA Gikir System
(800x600) 56,899

Prico Iku-J tvlIeCT I MB of RAM - 322 MB
lianl drive cl mfigurarions a ho available.

*Phfamazju’e Enluineenimti (Sysiems 325.

310, G and 220) : uilhin tfie first megufoyte
uj mourns J84 KBnjf nienwy is resewed for
me by the syitnri Uj cnhunce (tcrfurmamic .

4 MB airtftgi^rtitiotis mmfoWe
mi ad nslcmi. CuJI for
pricing.

tOO MB Super VGA Gikir Sy*j«ets>
(800x600) $.3,899

100 MBiiund dnve configuranons also
available.

Prkes listed refletit: ] MB of RAM- 150
and 322 hard dnve MB configiirathins also
available.

DISCLAIMER: All systems mt phoh►*

.rrmphed with optional extras.

All prices and specifications an.- subject t\ * chan^t without ntitice. Dell cannot be responsible tor emirs in typography or phiicogmphy.

* * Payments based on a 36 -mi inrh open-end tease t Leasing arranged by Leasi ng Cm>tip, Inc. 1 n Canada, cont i guranom and prices wil l vary:

E Hi SYSTEM is a teglvieted rrack-miirk i it l X-ll l LmpjrcrQaporatiL.’in. Mien ix itr, MS, MS-DOS :ind XENIX are registered trademarks owned by
Mitninufi Corp. Intel is a registered erode mark: 386 and 386SX are trademarks of Intel Girporaiiun. UNIX is a registered trademark of AT&.T
Dell UN IX System V is based. m INTER At. TJVE Systems G'irpi:>ratinris 386^'ix. IJ *" Signifies, trademarks of entines other than ITell Computer
C- Service pn iviJed K Xerox Citips rrarion. Service in remote location* will incut iidditinnsl travel charges- ©1989 Lfoll Gimputer
Qirporanon. All rights tesetvvd-

THE DELL SYSTEM * HO 20 MHz 386-

The be.5T combmatton of pertomiance and value available in its class.

STANDARD FEATURES:

CUSTOM
LEASING PLANS
AVAILABLE.

4 1ntel 80386 mknipcpcesatttnnin^ ar 20 MHz

4 Choice of 1 MB. 2 MB or 4 MBol RAM*expand;ihL- m 16 MB (using ,i dedicated
high-speed 32-bn memory skit).

* AJvtinced Intel 8Z385 Caclie Meznory GontniUcr with 32 KB l if fuglt speed static
RAM cache.

* Bage mode interleaved tneim>ry architecture-

* VGA systems include a high performance 16-hit video adapter.

■ Socket fur 20 Ml h Intel 80387 or 20MI h WEITEK 1167 math copnseessor.

* 5.2 5" 1.2 MR or 3.5" 1.44 MB diskette drive.

■ Dual diskette and hard drive controller.

■ Enhanced 101-key keyboard-

* 1 parallel ^ind 2 senal ptirfs.

■ 200-wan power supply.

* 8 industry standard expansion slots (6 avatbHc)
m Lease /or as fnu 1 as SOI /mtmlfu

Extended Serticc Pfou priemg sti/rts a/ S25J,

40 MB TTL Mi »m >chmfne System $ 3,599

40 MB VGLA Qikir Plus System $4,099

100 M B VGA G Jl »r Plus System 64,699

100 M B Super VGA G )k nr System (BOOxbtX'J $4,799

IViccs listed refk-ci 3 MB of RAM. 150 and 322 MB hard dn^_- con! igurritkim also avaiLibk-,

No matter how many reasons we give you to
buy a Dell system* sometimes it makes more
seme to lease one instead- Whether you need
a single computer, or an entire office full, leasing
is just like 100% financing. So you don t tie up
working capital Or credit lines. Of course, tlyere
can also be tax advantages as well.

And just as we can custom configure your
computers, we can see to it you get a custom
designed lease plan to fit the exact needs of
your business. 7

Its just another example of why over halt
the Fortune 500 companies now own or lease
Dell systems.

And why you may decide that from now on,
the only place you’ll go to buy a computer
is the phone on your desk.

SO HOW COME
YOU NEVER CAU?

If you’ve been looking ar 386-
based computers, you obviously
feel the need for speed.

Something the Dell System®
310 delivers in spades*

In fact, the System 310 has
more speed than even the most
seasoned 386-05615 have come
to expect. Case in point, PC Labs
benchmark tests. The System
310 consistently outperfomied

the Compaq" 386/20e, Not to
mention the IBM PS/2" Model
70421. Leading one reviewer to
comment, “Its fast enough to
bum the sand off a desert floor”
for us, however, fast enough
is not enough* By utilizing an
Intel *82385 Cache Memory
Controller, page mode RAM and
interleaved memory, the 310
not only delivers the aforemen-

OUR SYSTEM 310
IS FASTER
THAN A BAT
OUT OF HELL.

tinned speed, hut enough horse¬
power to do everything from
CAD/CAM to megaspreadsheets
to databases the size of the
Manhattan Yellow Rages*

It even has the umph to
work as a network file server*

TELL US
WHAT TO
DO NEXT.

As much as the System 310
has to offer, it doesrit even
begin to reach its full potential
until after we've heard
your input.

Bar it’s only in this way that
we're able to custom configure
every 310 system. To give users
exactly what they need* No
more. No less.

Do you do a lot of spread¬
sheets? There's an optional Intel
80387 or WEITEK 3167 math
coprocessor available.

Storage ? You can have a 40 M B
hard disk drive. Or choose a 100,
150, or 322 MB hard drive,

The System 310 comes
standard with 1 MB of RAM* Want
more ? We can configure up to 8
MB on the system hoard.

Still not enough? We can
add another 8 MB by installing a
high-speed memory 1 expansion
board. You can even run your
System 310 as either a MS-DOS,®
M5®OS/2 or UNIX®system.

The same holds true for
monitors. You can choose between
VGA Monochrome with paper-
white screen, VGA Color Plus, or
Super VGA for high resolution
colors on a larger screen*

The point here is that when
you order a System 310, you not
only get a 386-based system that's
incredibly fast, powerful and
versatile, but incredibly personal
as well.

COMPU STORE

4 131

T> ffM

YOU CAN'T GET
MORE DIRECT
THAN THIS.

To a sophisticated com¬
puter user, there's nothing
worse than having to buy
from a retailer who knows
little more than you do.

In fact, in a recent poll,

92% say they'd like to skip
the middleman and deal
with the manufacturer.

Because, after all,
computer retailers are in the
retail business first. And in
die computer business second.

So expecting expert advice
on computers is asking a lot.

Getting after-die-sale service
isn't always easy either.

But when you buy from us, you
never set foot in a computer store.

Instead, you deal direct. You
talk with a computer expert who
can offer sound advice. Some¬
one who can help you configure
a system that not only meets
your needs, hut meets diem for
up to 35% less than you'd pay
a retailer.

WE COME WHEN
WE'RE CALLED.

One of die things that very
clearly sets Dell systems apart
from other computers is not just
how they’re sold bur how they're
supported.

Overkill was one descrip¬
tion used in a recent PC Week
article.

That's because every Del!
system comes with self-diag¬
nostic software and a toll-free
technical support line. We solve
90% of all problems right over
the phone.

The other 10% receive next-
day, deskside service. Thanks
to our new alliance with Xerox

Corporation.

And you get all this help for a
full year—whenever you need
it—at no exta charged

As you've probably guessed
by now, one of the things that
drives us most is customer
satisfaction.

So we'd like to give you the
ultimate guarantee: Try a System
310 in your office for a month.
Run your toughest applications.

Put it through its paces, at your
pace. If you re not completely
satisfied, send it back anytime
within 30 days. And we’ll refund
your money. No questions asked.

DELL

COMPUTER

CORPORATION

TO ORDER. CALL

800 - 426-5150

IN CANADA, CALL 1TC-W7-H32
IN GERMAN X CALL 0610 3v'7C1 LOO
IN THE U K., CALL 0H0D 4H 335

Circle 79 on Reader Service Card

AD CODE NO. HEBM

How To Support

You can provide software updates, answer tech¬
nical questions, and offer reams of product information
to anyone with a modem. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,

unattended.

All you need is a PC, XT, AT, or 386-compatible,
and a Galacticomm multi-user hardware/software
package. And some phone lines.

Our multi-user Bulletin Board System software,
called The Ma/or BBS™, supports your customers in
several ways:

• Public Posting Areas .... technical dialogue,

bulletins, Q&A listings

• Private E-Mail.for one-on-one

customer support

• Teleconferencing.online "seminars" and

real-time interaction

• File Upload/Download. . distribute updates, P.R.

info, "app notes"

• Questionnaires ..for market research,

order forms, etc.

Your Customers

Our multi-modem PC cards are available in several
configurations: 2 to 8 modems per card at 2400 baud, or
2 to 16 modems per card at 1200 baud. These are true
single-slot cards with the modems built right in — no
additional serial ports, power supplies, or external
boxes of any kind are required.

The Major BBS can support up to 64 users simul¬
taneously, although most of our customers operate
small 4- to 16-user systems. The C source code is also
available, so that you can modify the system to suit
your specific requirements.

iHmariM MiLti-iKEi m mtcih
INI SHE MU Wltf ST It-73

1*1 Bitjuf 5TCM11 w,y
‘v#lm liKwmiirtti
Ufcrcni (fill up I wi duu

U-M

ClMilfW M

i I mil mail: fk.J1
feLiat*! itJuKlitt'KiUt

For $59, we'll send you an introductory
copy of The Major BBS, suitable for
use with your standard COM1 and/or
COM2 modems. This is a fully func¬
tional version for up to 2 simultaneous
users (3 if you count the SysOp). You
can upgrade later to a fully supported
4, 8, 16, 32, or 64-user version for only
$300 per doubling (plus modem hard¬
ware of course!).

Yes! Send me a copy of
THE MAJOR BBS!

(Florida orders add $3.54 tax. Overseas
orders add LLS. $25 tor shipping,)

D $59.00 check enclosed

□ $67.30 For C.O.D.

Cl $65.15 for credit card:

□ VISA □ MC □ AMEX /

Exp. Date

| Name

1 Company

J IJI " ^

Address

| City Slate Zip

Signature

(/) GALACTICOMM

Galacticomm, Inc. 4101 S.W. 47 Ave.

Suite 101, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314

Circle 113 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS: 114)

Modem: (305) 583-7808
Fax: (305) 583-7846
Voice: (305) 583-5990

VOLUME 14, NUMBER 11 1 1989

BYTE

IBM

Special Edition

8 Editorial: More Bang
for Your Bucks

by Fred Langa

13 Megahertz Madness

by the BYTE Staff

49 Benchmarks at a Glance: 1989

by Stanford Diehl

56 Redefining the Standards

by Martin Heller

67 The 80486: A Hardware
Perspective

by Ron Sartore

159 Is It Really Super?

by Bill Nicholts

175 SQL: A Database Language
Sequel to dBASE

by Mark L, Van Name
and Bill Caichings

185 Unix Fi lenames for Turbo
Pascal
by Jim Kerr

195 Which LAN?

by Richard Watson

203 The Language of Lasers
by Kent Quirk

BYTE (ISSN 0360-5280} ie published monthly with an additional issue lit Oc¬
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England.

Subscription questions or problems should be addessed to: BYTE »

Subscriber Service. P.O. Box 551 „ Highlstowo, NJ 06520,

79 Stretching DOS to the Limit

by Frank Hayes

87 The State of OS/2

by Mark J. Minasi

95 AIX on the PS/2s

by Ben Smith

105 Looking Beyond the DOS
Prompt

by Stan Miastkowski

123 Using Expanded Memory

by David M. Yancich

131 Serving Many Masters

by Brian T. Anderson
andMarcyA. Puhnaty

143 Clash of the Graphics
Titans

by Rick Cook

209 A Standards Dictionary

by L. Brett Glass

221 Optimizing Numeric
Coprocessing
by Stephen Fried

229 Inventing the PC's Future

by Gordon A. Campell

264 Editorial Index by Company

269 The Status of Applications
Software: Late
by Dennis Allen

276 The Wages of Sin

by Pete Wilson

PROGRAM LISTINGS
From BIX: See 239
On disk: See card after 20$

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Fall 1989 3

In an industry that evolves practically over¬
night, it’s tough to stay ahead of the crowd.

You need tools that not only give you an
edge day-to-day, but open up endless possibilities.

Tools that can only come from Microsoft

Combine Microsoft 8 C and Macro Assem¬
bler and you’ve got enough power to create pro¬
grams for MS-DOS? Windows and OS/2 systems.

What’s more, you can do it all in record time
because our renowned CodeView® Debugger,
Linker, Microsoft Editor, and MAKE utility work
ingeniously and seamlessly
together.

In other words, you’ve
got the leverage of the most
inventive and comprehensive
tools around.

When you develop un¬
der OS/2 systems, you’ve got 9
options no one else can touch.

Like multi-tasking. And blast¬
ing through the 640K barrier.

In addition, Microsoft
C and Macro Assembler can
accommodate more third
party add-ons than any other
PC professional languages.

Maybe that’s why the
most popular applications on the market today
were developed through the unique power of our
C and Assembler: Lotus® 1-2-3! WordPerfect® 5.0.
Microsoft Excel. And Aldus® PageMaker.®

So drop by your nearest Microsoft dealer
soon. And start turning out the most airtight, fine-
tuned code ever to touch a disk.

After all, you’ve got the leverage.

Microsoft

Making it all make sense:

Customers in the U.S., call (800)426-9400. In Canada, call (416)673-7638. Outside North America, call (206)
882-8661. © Copynght 1989 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Mjcroscft, MS-DOS and the Microsoft
logo are registered trademarks and Making it all make sense is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

EVTE

Frarterlc 5. Lflfiga J . Bu rt Totaro

OPERATIONS

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REVIEWS (Hardware, Software, Prockicl Focus)

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Senior Technical Editor, Software, Richard Grehan Director,
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Stanford Diehl Testing Editor, BYTE Lab. Howard
Egloweiein Testing Editor. BYTE Lab, Stanley Wszois
fesfing Editor. BYTE Lab

NEWS AND TECHNOLOGY (Mlerobytee, What's New, Short Takas]
N#w York: Rich Malloy Associate Managing Editor, Andrew
Reinhardt Associate News Editor
Peterborough: D, Barker Senior Editor, News and
Technofogy, Anne Rscher Lem Senior Editor, New
Products, Roger Adams Associate News Editor, David
Andrews Associate News Editor, Martha Hicks Associate
News Editor

San Francisco: Nicholas Saran Bureau Chief. Frank Hayes
News Editor. Jeffrey Bertolucci Associate News Editor

SPECIAL PROJECTS BDITOR

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SENIOR TECHNICAL EDITORS

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6 Fall 19B9 • B Y T E IBM Special Edition

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questions is yes, LabWindows*' is just the solution you're
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LabWindows instrument library has over 50 ready-lo-use
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such as Fast Fourier Transforms, digital filtering, and curve

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If you 're looking for the right tools to take maximum advantage
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f'iwmt* t nFDrtH

New 80486-based
systems from Cheetah
and ALR prove that
high-performance
hardware doesn’t have
to cost a fortune

S everal months ago, I crossed my
fingers for luck and wrote, “We
may see the 80486 market split in
two radically different direc¬
tions: killer systems with killer prices for
departmental computing needs, and rela¬
tively inexpensive fast systems for per¬
sonal desktop use,”

In this industry, one of the safest
things that you can do is to predict high
prices. But fortunately for me (I don't
like the taste of crow). Cheetah and ALR
delivered on the low-price prediction.
Their machines could trigger a major re¬
shuffling of prices across all Intel-archi-
tecture machines.

Cheetah's new 25-MHz 80486 tower
system is based on the motherboard it
showed last spring (see the June and Au¬
gust editorials). The entry-level version
of the new system comes with 4 mega¬
bytes of RAM, a 60-megabyte hard disk
drive, a VGA controller, a monochrome
VGA monitor, and a 1.2-megabyte 5 W -
inch floppy disk drive. For this, you pay
just $4995.

ALR's PowerFlex is based on its at¬
tractive $1495 12-MHz 80286 system
that comes standard with a 40-megabyte
hard disk drive and 1 megabyte of RAM.
With the addition of a $2995 plug-in
module, it becomes a $4500 80486-
based system, aJbeit one with a 16-bit
data bus; sort of an 80486SX.

Stunning Price and Performance

In absolute terms, $4500 or $5000 is still
a fair chunk of change. But in terms of

EDITORIAL ■ Fred Langa

More Bang for
Your Bucks

relative pricing, or better still, price/
performance, these systems represent a
stunning advance.

Maybe “stunning” sounds like hyper¬
bole. After all, there are no “real”
80486 machines yet: Every system we've
seen so far is built around a prototype
motherboard carrying a prototype (“A”
Step) CPU chip.

But from the early benchmarks, we're
confident that the production-model
Cheetah 80486 systems will outpace
many, and maybe all, of the current crop
of 33-MHz 80386-based systems. For
example, the Everex Step 386/33—a very
nice machine—turns in CPU, FPU, and
video benchmark indexes of 6,84 1 15.48,
and 4,26, respectively (where an 8-MHz
AT equals 1). The pre product ion 25-
MHz Cheetah already yields 6.52,
21.49, and 5.57, respectively.

At its introductory price, the Chee¬
tah's cost is only about half that of the
next-least-expensive 80486-based box.
I'd call that “stunning.”

The ALR system, with its AT-bus bot¬
tleneck, isn't nearly as fast as the Chee¬
tah, or any 80486 with a full-width data
path: Its preliminary CPU, FPU, and
video benchmark indexes are 4.18,
2L85, and 3.80, respectively.

But the ALR system also isn't nearly
as costly as most other 80486-based sys¬
tems: The ALR system is simply the
world's least-expensive 80486, period.
For some non-!/O-intensive software, we
expect that the PowerFlex 486 will easily
keep up with machines costing two and
even three times as much. “Stunning?”
You bet.

EISA on the Way

BYTE's November issue will have a
complete First Impression and prelimi¬
nary benchmarks of the Cheetah and
ALR 80486 systems.

We're also planning coverage of three
other 80486-based machines, including
what will be the first announced EISA-
bus machine. (Yes, a brand-new bus and

a brand-new chip in the same machine.)
The story is currently under a strict em¬
bargo, so we can't release the name of
the manufacturer yet; but I'll bet that you
will be surprised when you see just who
it is.

In any case, the appearance of a rela¬
tive “low end” in 80486 machines is a
welcome development. Cheetah and
ALR have done us all a favor.

For one thing, the aggressive prices
announced by Cheetah and ALR place
immediate pressure on the high-priced
80486 vendors. To justify the extra
costs, 80486 vendors will have to be sure
they've added meaningful extra value
beyond the pizzazz of simply having an
80486 chip inside.

Aggressive low pricing may even ad¬
vance the date when 80486 price wars
break out*

Big Ripples

And the ripple effects will be profound.
Consider that an 80486 chip, with its on¬
board FPU and cache, outperforms and
currently costs less than a 33-MHz
80386 with separate FPU and cache
chips. Very simply, for the 80386 chip to
survive, 80386 machines will have to
drop to a price point well below that of
similarly equipped 80486 systems* With
Cheetah and ALR already drawing the
lower boundaries of 80486 pricing, ven¬
dors of fast 80386 systems now have a
clear target to beat.

There will always be a place for de¬
partmental “killer” systems that only a
corporate budget can afford. But these
first low-cost 80486 machines may help
lower all 80x86 system prices back down
toward the range where personal comput¬
ing can become personally affordable
again*

Systems like these two from Cheetah
and ALR may be just what the doctor
ordered*

—Fre d Langa
Editor in Chief
(BIX name “flanga ft )

8 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Instant Mainframe. Just add SCO.

N ot too long ago, a few dozen people sharing the same pro¬
grams, resources, and information on a single computer at
the same time meant only one thing—a mainframe.

Powerful, big, expensive, and proprietary.

More recently, the same people could be found doing exactly the
same things—simultaneously sharing programs, resources, and
information—on a minicomputer.

A lot cheaper, a lot smaller, yet powerful enough to do the same
jobs. And just as proprietary.

T hen along came the latest generation of personal computers.

And now, the same people are more and more likely to be
found doing exactly the same things—simultaneously sharing
programs, resources, and information—on a PC.

And not a whole offlceful of PCs networked together, either, but
a single PC powering the whole office at once :

A lot cheaper, a lot smaller, yet still easily powerful enough to do
the same jobs. Built to non-proprietary, open system standards
that allow complete freedom of choice in hardware and software.

And running the industry-choice multiuser, multitasking UNIX®
System V platform that gives millions of 286- and 386-based PC
users mainframe power every business day.

The UNIX System standard for PCs—SCO.™

UNDt la i nguiefd Menwl ofATiT. SCO Hie S0Q kiffJ irt mdemufe uf The Cnn CJpKaitao, fenc Mcfnsrf and; IBSlK in
tflukniarfei ij Hinisoft Oorpemlnxi 05/Zmd Hutu dhjnr>ti in HnSefiarfa bifcmufcpiil BurUcs Ijwjwriliwi 1-2-3 it ■

tradmurk of krais DcrefopEtoi fofjtwaiswL dEASE IS FILS is t jcgiswed trademark uf AsfrtDci Tan fc/S9

*1985 The Suita linn CJpwmni* lot, *00 Endml SCsa, F,(X tem I9W, Sana 0*0. Cdiferaii 95061 US*

The Sum Qm Oporto, Ltd, Cm lev Sjam, Krtrs Lam Watford WD1 8TN, Itafrd Skigjfcm, +M f'D/CJ 3tf *4i FAX. *+4 (0)935 BI773L,
TELEt 917573 mmir

T oday, SCO UNIX System solutions are installed on more than
one in ten of all leading 386 computers in operation worldwide.

Running thousands of off-the-shelf XENIX® and UNIX System-based
applications on powerful standard business systems supporting 32
or even more workstations—at an unbelievably low cost per user.
And with such blazing performance that individual users believe
they have the whole system to themselves.

Running electronic mail across the office—or around the world—
in seconds.

Running multiuser PC communications to minis and mainframes
through TCP/IP and SNA networks.

A nd doing some things that no mainframe—or even DOS- or
.0S/2™-based PC—ever thought about, such as running multiple
DOS applications. Or networking DOS, OS/2, XENIX and UNIX
Systems together. Or running UNDt System versions and workalikes
of popular DOS applications such as Microsoft 55 Word, 1-2-3®, and
dBASE m PLUS®

Or even letting users integrate full-featured multiuser productivity
packages of their choice under a standard, friendly menu interface.

Today’s personal computer isn’t just a "PC” anymore, and you can
unleash its incredible mainframe-plus power for yourself—today.

Just add SCO.

The SCOfamily of UNIX System software solutions is available for all 80286
ami 80386-based industry-standard and Micro Channel™ computers.

SCO 3

TH E SANTA CRUZ OPERATION

Circle 233 on Reader Service Card

We develop products on the premise that

Page Laserl2i 12 ppm, up to 3 paper bins, 750sheet
capability, Tbshiba/Qume, Diahfo IBM & HPemuIations.

mOOe: 12MHz80286, internal MM .s’M
20MB hand disk, gas plasma display, 1MBRAM
expands to 5MB. L44MB3W diskette drive.

71000:6.4 lbs, 4.77MHz 80038 512KB RAM expandable
to 12MB, MS-DOS in ROM, 720KB3W diskette drive.
Built-in RGB, parallel serial and external drive, parts.

P341SL; Wide carriage (up to 270CPU 216/72
Cps, advanced paper handling, 4 partftnnm.

T1200FB: 9.8 pounds, 9,54MHz 80086,1MB
RAM.2 720KB 3$ floppy drives, removable/
rechargeable battery pack.

ExpressWriter 301:4 lbs, letter-quality 24-dot print head, 60 cps,
Toshiba/Qume and Epson LQ Emulations, 5 resident fonts,

T5100:16MHz 80386 microprocessor, 4t) or 100MB hard disk, 2MB
RAM expandable to 4MB 14.6lbs. Built-in EGA display with high
resolution gas plasma screen,

P351SX: 360/120tps, 24pin
tetter quality color option,
Toshiba/Qume and IBM
emulations standard, Epson
& Diablo emulations optional

great minds dont think alike.

T16QQ:1L6 tbs. Battery-powered 12MHz286,20MB hard
dish 144MB floppy- 1MB RAM expands to 5MB, backlit
EGA LCD, renunxihkfreduirgeabk battery packs.

T5200:20MHz 80386processor, 2 internal IBM compatible
expansion slots 40 or 100MB hard disk VGA display with
external VGA monitor port 2MB RAM expandable to 8MB

T3200;12MHz286
2 IBM compatible
slots 40MB hard
disk LUMB floppy.
1MB RAM expands
to 4MB, EGA screen.

ExpressWriter 311 ; 24-pin dot ma trix, 180 cps draft/60 cps letter
quality, 3 resident emulations (Toshiba/Qurm% Epson LQ, IBM
Pmpnnteri 16K buffer, 5 resident fonts plus card slots, 11 lbs

T1200HB: 10.8 lbs, 9.54MHz 80C86,20MB P321SL/SLC (color): 216/72 Cps, 24 pin letter quality, up to 360x360DHgraphics,

hard disk 1MB RAM, indudes 384KBUM- Toshiba/Qume and IBM emulations standard , Epson and Diablo emulations

EMS, Rf wnwbtemchurgeobte battery pack optional 32KB print buffer, front panel controls, advanced paper handling.

People have their own quirky
ways of doing things. Some think
fast Some slow. Some are deliber¬
ate. Some intuitive. Some work
from 9 to 5. Others never stop.

That’s precisely why we offer
so many different products.

Including the widest range

of truly portable PCs anywhere.

And a line of printers that
includes everything from a high
volume laser to a four-pound, letter-
quality, battery-operated portable.

All of which can be easily
networked. But all of which are de¬
signed to meet the specific needs

of each of our individual users.

Because the fact is, at Toshiba,
we have an incredibly diverse and
sophisticated customer base.

And from what we’ve been able
to determine they have only one
thing in common.

They’re all different

In Touch with Tomorrow

TOSHIBA

Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc, Computer Systems UK vision
Circle 249 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS; 250)

We've got the guts,
you get the glory.

Clearly superior.

DTK is a registered trademark and Bare Bone is a trademark of Datatech Enterprises Co., Ltd.

Intel 386 is a trademark of Intel Corporation. XT and AT are registered trademarks of IBM Corporation.

Circle 89 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS: 90)

IBM SPECIAL ISSUE

Megahertz

Madness

BYTE editors

check out 15 of the world’s

fastest PCs

or the last couple of months, BYTE has received
a steady stream of press releases touting the vir¬
tues of the latest "world’s fastest PC/* Since
Intel began shipping its 33-MHz version of the
80386 CPU, PC makers have hustled to get it
into their systems in the hope that a magazine like BYTE will
award them that title. We would like to oblige, but the task is
more complicated than it first appears,

BYTE received 14 33-MHz PCs and the new Unix-based
Altos 80386 system (see the text box “Altos 386 Series 1000:
For Unix Only” on page 30), We benchmarked them ail. We
can tell you which one had the fastest CPU (the Everex Step
386/33) and which one had the best overall application index
(the SI A 386/33). But when you run applications that are not
CPU-intensive or change the system configuration, those rank¬
ings become less meaningful.

A fast CPU will always be a fast CPU, but it won’t make your
hard disk drive access data any faster* For a better application
index score, all you have to do is install a good disk-caching
controller with lots of memory—expensive, but the results are
impressive.

The “world’s fastest PC” is the one that lets you finish your
work in the least amount of time. Since this is what the BYTE
application index measures, the SI A 386/33 has the most right
to the claim. But then, no other PC in this group had a 4.5-
megabyte hard disk cache, which dramatically improves per¬
formance for disk-intensive applications. When reading the de¬
scriptions of each machine, remember that every PC here, even
the SIA 386/33, could have received better application index
scores by using faster I/O interfaces, increasing the size and
speed of the CPU and disk caches, or using faster hard disk
drives* It’s just a matter of how much money you want to spend*

Speaking of Money

We have compiled several tables so you can more easily com¬
pare the systems. Tables 1 and 2 list the features of each sys¬
tem’s base model. The configuration and mode! designations

for the units we received may vary from the entries in the
tables. Some systems start at a very low price but offer little
more than a keyboard, a case, a motherboard and memory, and
a floppy disk drive* Two, the Dyna Cache 386 and the Tangent
333, don’t have standard models at all; the companies custom-
configure each unit to the buyer’s specifications.

Higher-priced units offer more in the way of hardware, and
they often carry a well-known brand name* You pay a premium
for a computer from a company with an established reputation
that can presumably provide greater system reliability and bet¬
ter customer support. But buying from a lesser-known com¬
pany can save you several thousand dollars—an important fac¬
tor for those with a limited budget.

Keep in mind, too, that the prices we give in this roundup are
the manufacturers' retail prices. Retailers, value-added resell¬
ers (VARs), and mail-order houses may have lower prices.

We’ve omitted some obvious categories from tables 1 and 2
because all vendors offer the same type of feature. For in¬
stance, all systems come with a 1 * 2-megabyte 5 U-inch floppy
disk drive standard (a few will swap it for a l * 44-megabyte 3
inch floppy disk drive if you wish), and all systems accept
either an Intel 80387 or a Weitek 3167 math coprocessor. Each
system allows you to change the CPU speed setting, and all the
systems will run OS/2 or a variety of Unix given sufficient
RAM and hard disk capacity.

Table 3 and figure 1 give the BYTE benchmark indexes.
When looking at the rankings, it’s important to maintain per¬
spective. Even the slowest 33-MHz PC is over 20 times faster
than an IBM PC AT on the application index. In fact, it’s about
20 percent faster than the fastest machine that IBM currently
offers. Speed is wonderful, but other factors, such as expand¬
ability, construction quality, and price, are just as important.

Wonderful, Yes; But Who Needs It?

Buying a barn-burning 33-MHz PC for everyday office grunt
work is silly; relatively simple tasks such as word processing

continued

B Y T E IBM Special Edition * Fall 19S9 13

MEGAHERTZ MADNESS

Table 1: Main system features , price , and warranty. Price variations are due mainly to differences in what ’$ offered
in the standard configuration. Note that most vendors use third-party motherboards; variations in performance among
systems using the same motherboard are possible by using faster I/O controllers and devices, larger and faster caches,
and faster memory.

Computer

Price

Motherboard

maker

RAM

ROM

BIOS

Power Warranty
supply

Standard

memory

Access

time

Max.

RAM

RAM cache

ALR FlexCache 33/386 Model 150

$9990

ALR

2 Mb

60 ns

16 Mb

128K; 25 ns

Phoenix

200 W

1 year

AST Premium 386/33 Model 115V

$8495

AST

2 Mb

80 ns

36 Mb

32K; 25 ns

AST

220 W

1 year

Bfackship 386/33

$4195

Micronics

1 Mb

80 ns

16 Mb

32K: 25 ns

Phoenix

220 W

1 year

Compaq Deskpro 386/33 Model 84

$10,499

Compaq

2 Mb

80 ns

16 Mb

64K; 25 ns

Compaq

300 W

1 year

Dyna Cache 386 1

$9993

AMI

4 Mb

70 ns

16Mb

64 K; 20 ns

AMI

275 W

1 year

Everex Step 386/33

$7599

Everex

4 Mb

100 ns

16Mb

64K; 20 ns

Phoenix

200 W

1 year

FiveStar 386 Model 333

$3395

Micronics

1 Mb

80 ns

16Mb

32K; 25 ns

Award

200 W

1 year

Matrix MDP 386-33

$5585

Micronics

4 Mb

80 ns

16 Mb

32K; 25 ns

Phoenix

275 W

1 year

Micro Express ME 386-33

$5995

AMI

4 Mb

70 ns

16 Mb

64K; 20 ns

AMI

220 W

15 months

National Microsystems Flash 386-33

$4999

Micronics

4 Mb

80 ns

16 Mb

64K; 25 ns

Phoenix

200 W

1 year

PC Link 306/33 Model 160

$5995

Hauppauge

4 Mb

80 ns

64 Mb

64K; 20 ns

Award

220 W

1 year

SIA 386/33

$6490

A MI/SI A 3

4 Mb

70 ns

16 Mb

64K: 20 ns

AMI

350 W

1 year

Tangent 333 1

$6995

Mylex

4 Mb

80 ns

32 Mb

128K; 25 ns

AMI

250 W

1 year

Zenith Z-386/33 ModeM 50

$11,499

Zenith

2 Mb

80/100 ns 64 Mb

16K; 15 ns

Zenith

200 W

1 year

1 No standard model: systems are buNt to customer's specifications. Configuration shown represent system sent to BYTE.
* AMI customizes its 33-MHz mother board for laster memory to SlA's specifications.

Table 2: Standard storage, video t I/O, and expansion features, plus bundled software and FCC ratings. Hard disk storage
and controller type vary considerably, although in virtually all cases it is possible either to specify the drive and controller
type of your choice or to buy a stripped system and install your own , When considering expansion slots * keep in mind that
on most systems at least one slot is occupied by a video, memory t CPU, or controller card * Systems that integrate these
functions onto the motherboard may have fewer slots, but the same or greater expansion capability. Most vendors sell the
operating system at extra cost, often offering a choice of MS-DOS or OS/2. An FCC rating of A means that the machine
is certified for use only in business environments; B is certification for home or residential use *

Computer Hard disk drive Case

---—-—-- type*

Controller

type

Hard disk
maker

Access

time

Capacity

Hardware

cache?

Max. #
bays

ALR FlexCache 33/386 Model 150

ESDI

Maxtor or CDC

17 ms

150 Mb

AST Premium 386/33 Model 115V

Imprimis

16 ms

110Mb

Yes

Bfackship 386/33

Seagate

28 ms

40 Mb

Compaq Deskpro 386/33 Model 84

Conner

25 ms

84 Mb

Dyna Cache 386*

ESDI

Micropolis

18 ms

147 Mb

Everex Step 386/33

Option

—

FiveStar 386 Model 333

Option

—

Option

Matrix MDP 386-33

Option

—

5 s

Micro Express ME 386-33

ESDI

Option

—

Yes

National Microsystems Flash 386-33

ESDI

Option

—

Yes

PC Link 386/33 Model 160

ESDI

Micropolis

17 ms

159 Mb

SIA 366/33

Option

—

Option

Tangent 333 4

ESDI

CDC

18 ms

100Mb

Zenith Z-386/33 Model 150

ESDI

MiniScribe

18 ms

150 Mb

1 D=desktop; T=tower.

^ MS-DOS 3.3; b-MS-DOS 4 m; c-system setup software; disk-caching utility; e=system utilities; f=Microsoft Windows.
3 Game port.

* No standard model; systems are built to customer's specifications. Configuration shown represents syslem sent to BYTE.

5 Two bays accept only 3W-indh devices.

14 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

MEGAHERTZ MADNESS

perform only slightly faster at 33 MHz than they do at 12 MHz.
Place a 33-MHz machine in front of an engineer, financial ana¬
lyst, or software developer, though, and you’ve made a friend.
Fill a 33-MHz PC with a few hundred megabytes of hard disk
storage and the right networking hardware, and you have a
powerful file server for a LAN or multiuser environment.
Combine a 33-MHz machine with a laser printer and imaging
hardware, and you get a fast workstation suitable for desktop
publishing.

With a 33-MHz PC, you can expect to shave 20 percent to 30
percent off the CPU processing time of a 25-MHz PC. The
longer your application takes to process, the greater the benefit.
Switching to a faster processor might save you seconds, min¬
utes, or even hours. For some tasks, even the most expensive
33-MHz PC could pay for itself in the time it saves.

ALR FlexCache 33/3 86

Advanced Logic Research’s 33-MHz entry sports a unique
tower design. Remove the side panel and you see a large swing-
arm on which the hard disk drive is mounted. The advantage is
twofold: The arm’s full-height hinge and an accompanying
brace on the other side add much-needed rigidity to the ALR’s
otherwise flimsy case, and swinging out the hard disk drive
provides easy access to the rest of the FlexCache 33/3 86’s
internals.

The brace, however, is a pain to reinstall. Although held in

continued

Video

Expansion slots

Ports

Software

included 2

FCC

rating

Graphics

board

Monitor

8-bit

16-blt

32-bit

Parallel

Serial

Mouse

16-brt VGA

Option

a.c.d

16-bit VG A

Option

a.cvd.e

Monochrome

o,e

VGA

Option

d>e

16-brt VGA

VGA

Option

a,c,d r e

Option

—

Option

a.e

Option

16-bit VGA

Option

a or b,c,e

Option

c,e

16-brt VGA

VGA

Option

a,e,d h f

B Y T E IBM Special Edition * Fall 1989 IS

Circle 225 on Reader Service Card

Introducing a PS/2 joystick adapter
as reliable as a Sidewinder
at pointblank range.

The GPA-1000™ from
Qua Tech. It supports the
IBM® Micro Channel™ for PS/2™"

Models 50, 60, 70, and 80. And it’s
compatible with the IBM Game Control
Adapter™ for the PC-XT®and AT®

The GPA-1000 handles two joysticks
or four paddles.

Also for the PS/2 Micro Channel from
Qua Tech: the SP-1000 Parallel Port Adapter s>1

and the SP-1050 Serial/Parallel Port Adapter. Both offer multiple
address and interrupt options.

And the DS-I000 Dual Serial Adapter. For users who are looking
for terminal communication flexibility.

Take aim at the PS/2 market, with Qua Tech.

QUA TECH. INC
470 E Exchange Strait
A*ron, OH 44304

For order info, call:

1-800-553-1170

IBM. Micro Channel. PS/2, PC-XT. AT. and Game Control Adapter are
trademark* or registered trademarks of IBM Corporation
GPA-1000 n a trademark of Qua Tech. Inc.

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We bring High-Technology
Down to Earth

MEGAHERTZ MADNESS

Table 3: (a) The BYTE low-level benchmark indexes,
sorted from highest to lowest CPU rating. Of these
numbers, the disk I/O index had the greatest influence
on the cumulative application indexes.

Computer

CPU

FPU

Disk I/O

Video

Everex Step 386/33

6.84

15.48

2.45

4.26

ALR FlexCache 33/386

6.74

15.66

2.60

2.83

SIA 386/33

6.27

14.97

8.99

3.27

Compaq Deskpro 386/33

6.09

15.50

2.90

4.53

National Microsystems
Flash 386-33

6.06

15.07

6.48

2.01

Blackship 386/33

6.03

13.71

2.37

3.61

Matrix MDP 386-33

5.75

15.07

1.93

5.73

FiveStar 386 Model 333

5.74

15.75

7.14

2.22

Tangent 333

5.73

14.83

2.28

1.79

Dyna Cache 386

5.67

14.86

2.56

3.85

Micro Express ME 386-33

5.66

15.06

7.02

2.97

PC Link 386/33 Model 160

5.10

14.87

2.83

2.11

AST Premium 386/33

4.80

14.21

2.32

3.89

Zenith Z-386/33

4.79

15.10

2.96

5.05

place by only two screws, the housings for the mass storage de¬
vices fit into notches on the brace’s backside. The edges of
those housings are fitted with plastic strips that immediately
fall off when you remove the brace. Replacing them can get te¬
dious if you frequently tinker inside the machine.

But this is a minor annoyance, especially in light of the Flex-
Cache 33/386’s superb performance in the BYTE benchmark
tests. With a 6.74 CPU index, it is the second-fastest PC we’ve
ever tested, CPU-wise, after the Everex Step 386/33. Its cumu¬
lative application index of 24.02 is a respectable one, especially
considering that it doesn’t have a hardware disk cache. ALR has
historically taken performance seriously, and the FlexCache
33/386 certainly reflects that attitude.

ALR designed most of the electronics inside the FlexCache
33/386, the only exceptions being the ESDI disk controller
(Adaptec or Western Digital), the 200-watt power supply, and
the drives themselves. The motherboard was free of engineer¬
ing wire changes.

The ALR FlexCache, in its base configuration, comes with a
150-megabyte 17-millisecond Maxtor or Control Data hard
disk drive, a 1.2-megabyte 5 l A -inch floppy disk drive, an ALR
16-bit VGA card, 2 megabytes of 60-nanosecond RAM (ex¬
pandable to 16 megabytes), 128K bytes of 25-ns cache RAM,
room for another four half-height storage devices, and MS-
DOS 3.3. The base unit price is $9990.

The unit has eight expansion slots: one 8-bit and seven 16-bit.
Three slots are taken by the hard disk drive controller, a serial/
parallel port card, and the VGA card. Memory goes on the
motherboard in single in-line memory module (SIMM) slots for
up to 16 megabytes.

The unit BYTE received had a 380-megabyte Maxtor drive,
an Adaptec ESDI controller, 4 megabytes of RAM, an ALR
VGA II monitor, and a 33-MHz 80387 math coprocessor. This
configuration costs $14,587.

If you need a fast computer, the ALR FlexCache 33/386 is
worth your consideration. — Michael E . Nadeau

continued

16 Fall 1989

BYTE

Circle 137 on Reader Service Card

MEGAHERTZ MADNESS

(b) The BYTE cumulative application indexes, sorted from highest to lowest. The.se numbers give an idea of what kind of
performance for a given application you can expect in comparison to an IBM PC AT The rankings are quite different from

the low-level results , which measure performance at the system level

Computer

Word

processing

Spreadsheet

Database

Scientific/

engineering

Compilers

Cumulative

SIA 386/33

5.49

4.32

8.09

7.42

7.32

32.64

Micro Express ME 386-33

4.76

4,32

5,83

7.12

5.55

27.58

National Microsystems

Flash 386-33

5.08

4.35

5,77

6.00

5.37

26.58

FiveStar 386 Model 333

4,82

4.31

591

5.90

5.53

26.47

Compaq Deskpro 386/33

4.28

5.01

300

7.86

4,46

24.61

Dyna Cache 386

5.02

4.27

2,91

7.51

4.42

24.13

ALR FlexCache 33/386

4,61

4.50

288

7.18

4.86

24.02

Blackship 386/33

4.69

4.45

2,89

7.30

4.44

23.77

AST Premium 386/33

4,11

4.22

3.01

7.23

4.11

22.69

Everex Step 386/33

4,43

3.93

1.96

8.05

4.25

22.62

PC Link 386/33 ModeM60

5,03

4.43

2.68

5,51

4.36

22.01

Tangent 333

4,57

4.45

2.45

5.43

4.27

21.17

Zenith Z-386/33

3,91

3.97

1.87

6.59

3,85

20.19

Matrix MDP 386-33

3.95

3.90

1.74

7.09

3.43

20.11

' Cumulative application index based on indexes al left.

BYTE BENCHMARK RESULTS

Low-level

Application-level

□

SIA 386/33

Micro Express ME 386-33
Flash 386-33
FiveStar Model 33/D
Compaq Deskpro 386/33
Dyna Cache 386
ALR FlexCache 33/386
Blackship 386/33
AST Premium 386/33
Everex Step 386/33
PC Link 386/33
Tangent 333
Zenith Z-386/33
Matrix MDP 386-33

32.64

27.58

26.58

26.47

24,61

24.13

24.02

23,77

22.69

22.62

22.01

21.17

20.19

20.11

□ Word processing

□ Spreadsheet

□ Database

□ Scientific/eng Sneering

□ Compilers

Figure 1: The systems that used the Distributed Processing Technology disk-caching controller took the top four spots on our
cumulative application indexes, followed by the Compaq Deskpro. Installing a hardware disk cache in any of the other 33-MHz
PCs would dramatically increase their scores , although expensively and sacrificing some hard disk capacity ,

BYTE IBM Special Edition - Fall 1989 17

Circle 101 on Reader Service Card

» SlipIM©BAIL*

RIB IN) (PW% §®~@gU

FEATURES: 1MB RAM, 80286 BASED
PROCESSOR, 10MHZ, (1) 1.44MB 3.5"
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& MANUALS, 100% IBM PRODUCT
**REMANUFACTURED **

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NOW, with SX Plus you will never be caught in the
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etc.) on any IBM Personal Computer or compatible. Over
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S.I- Plus is ONLY $79.00.

ANYONE with a PC and the need to CONVERT
units should CALL GEOCOMP at (800) 822-2669
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(508) 369-8304

18 Fall 1989 *

MEGAHERTZ MADNESS

AST Premium 386/33

With “Premium” as its middle name, AST's 33-MHz entry has
an image to live up to. The AST Premium 386733 does this
nicely with its clean, integrated design, solid construction, and
proven components. An $8495 base price further enhances its
high-quality image.

Its performance, however, is about average compared to the
other machines tested here. AST includes a disk-caching utility
that dramatically improves disk performance, though at the
cost of extended RAM. I allocated the maximum 1 megabyte of
RAM to the disk cache, which improved the BYTE disk I/O
index score nearly sixfold. A 16K-byte RAM track buffer is
standard.

The AST^designed motherboard integrates items usually
found on separate cards: a parallel port and two serial ports,
and the AT-style floppy and hard disk drive controllers. The
system's 32K-byte RAM cache is also integrated into four logic
chips, including memory. The AST 386/33 has seven slots in¬
stead of the usual eight. Two of those slots are taken by the
optional AST VGA card and the CPU card. The five remaining
slots should meet most users' needs, considering the devices
that are integrated on the motherboard. The unit comes with
setup software that allows you to disable these devices should
you want to install your own.

Only Zenith offers more 32-bit expansion slots than AST
(four versus three). Both machines allow for placing AT-type
cards or proprietary 32“bit memory cards in those slots.

The CPU card contains the CPU, FPU, up to 4 megabytes of
80-ns SIMM RAM, and the 80325 cache controller. Additional
memory, up to a total of 36 megabytes, requires proprietary
memory cards from AST. Conceivably, this design could per¬
mit easy upgrading should, heaven help us, a faster CPU be¬
come available. The rugged metal case is about 1 l h inches nar¬
rower than those of most other desktop 33-MHz PCs we tested,
thanks to the space-efficient integrated motherboard.

BYTE

Circle 121 on Reader Service Card
(DEALERS: 122 1

continued

Until now there was only one way
to integrate C and Assembler.

While C and Assembler give you power
to bum, switching back and forth between them
can leave your brain feeling a little fried.

All that stopping. And starting. And con¬
stantly retracing your steps.

Well, relax. Now there’s Microsoft”
QuickAssembler. Available with our clever
QuickC”Compiler in one location: the first inte¬
grated environment for C and Assembler.

For the first time, you can save time with
an integrated editor, compiler, assembler and
debugger that let you create C programs, mixed
C andAssembler programs, or Assembler pro¬
grams that stand alone.

To make sure you feel at home in your
new environment, we’ve designed Microsoft
Quick Advisor, a hypertext electronic manual
that coaches, coaxes and guides you on screen.

Quick Advisor gives you access to information
on all ROM BIOS and MS-DOS*calls. And it
even lets you cut and paste sample programs,
so you can make both C and
Assembler subroutines part
of your routine in no time.

For more details on
the incredible integrated
power of QuickAssembler
and QuickC Compiler, call
(800) 426-9400. If you own
QuickC Compiler version 2.0 already, we’ll tell
you how to add on QuickAssembler quick.

And take a load off your mind.

Miacsoft

Making it all make sense;

Customers inside the 50 United States, call (800)426-9400. In Canada, call (416) 673-7638. Outside the US and Canada call (206)882-8661. © Copyright 1989 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved Microsoft, the
Microsoft logo, MSDQS and QuickC are registered trademarks and Making it all make sense is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

Circle 195 on Reader Service Card

MEGAHERTZ MADNESS

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Our test unit came with a 110-megabyte Rigidyne (Control
Data) 3^-inch hard disk drive, a TEAC 1,2-megabyte floppy
disk drive, an AST VGA card and Premium Display/VGA
monitor, a 33-MHz Intel 80387 FPU, MS-DOS 3.3, and a total
of 4 megabytes of 80-ns SIMM memory. The total estimated
cost for this system (AST does not offer a math coprocessor;
33-MHz 80387s sell for about $1000) is $11,828.

I had no problems using the machine with a Microsoft Mouse
and card, and an NEC CDR-77 CD-ROM reader and its SCSI
controller. The Premium 386/33 ran Windows 2.0, Lotus 1-2-3
release 3,0, XyWrite 3.51, a finicky public domain fractal pro¬
gram, and NEC’s Clip-Art 3D, a Windows-based graphics li¬
brary on CD-ROM, Compatibility seems good with the AST.

The Premium 386/33’s main selling points are its high-qual¬
ity design and AST’s track record as a vendor of solid, reliable
hardware. Unless you must have either the fastest or the cheap¬
est 33-MHz PC, the Premium 386/33 should be among your top
choices, —Michael E. Nadeau

Black ship 386/33

Here’s a reasonably priced system that performed well. Like
several other systems that we tested, the Blackship 386/33 uses
the Micronics motherboard. It includes a RAM cache that
really speeds things up. I tried several informal tests using two
CPU-intensive programs, AutoCAD and Maplnfo. With the
cache on, which is the default mode for the system, the Black-
ship performed 27 percent to 42 percent better than with the
cache off. (All benchmark tests were run with the cache on.)

The basic system comes with a 33-MHz 80386, a Phoenix
BIOS, 1 megabyte of 32-bit RAM, a 1.2-megabyte floppy disk
drive, a disk drive controller with 1-to-l interleave, a Seagate
40-megabyte (28-ms) hard disk drive, two serial ports, one
parallel printer port, and one game controller port. It also in¬
cludes a 32K-byte RAM cache, a monochrome display adapter

continued

20 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Announcing VGA-TV®, the first VGA card that takes
VGA right from your PC and puts it on your TV or
VCR. It’s fast. It’s easy. It’s economical. And, it will
change the way you view VGA forever.

VGA-TV lets you display broadcast quality graphics,
oonduct PC training sessions, run interactive software
demos, or simply see the full impact of your work on
TV. Plus, you can videotape anything you display and
send it to one or one milli on viewers.

EYE-OPENING POWER

VGA-TV is a standard VGA card that is
100% register and BIOS compatible. It out¬
puts a broadcast quality NTSC (or RGB)
signal of VGA images to your television, projection TV,
large screen TV, or VCR.

On your TV, which connects to your computer by a
simple RCA jack, VGA-TV gives you resolution up to
640 x 480 x 16 colors (256 oolors when optional
memory is added to the board’s expansion sockets). On
a multifrequency monitor, you get resolution up to
800 x 600 x 16 colors (256 with the additional memory).

Fully compatible with previous graphics standards,
such as EGA and CGA, VGA-TV runs on the IBM
PC/XT, PC/AT and compatibles. It can be used with a TV
alone, or together with a monitor.

IT’S YOUR SHOW NOW, BABY!

Unleash the power of your PC with VGA-TV and let the
world watch your show in style. Priced at an unbeat¬
able $699.00, VGA-TV is fully backed by Willow’s three-
year warranty and toll-free technical support.

Ib order, or for more information, contact your dealer
or call 1-800-444-1585 . Ext. 36, Mastercard and VISA
cards honored. Dealer inquiries weloomed.

Willow Peripherals, 190 Willow Ave., Bronx, NY 10454
Phone: (212) 402-0010 or Fax: (212) 402-9603

Willow Peripherals is a division ofASV Electronics,
Ltd. Registered and unregistered
trademarks/ownsrs; VGA- TV/WiUow Peripherals;
GRASP/Psul Mace Sa/twane, Inn,

Computer courtesy of Hewlett-Packard, Inc .

VGA Boards That

Do More Than VGA.

VGA-TV

1 ITUKTilh

Circle 270 on Reader Service Card

MEGAHERTZ MADNESS

and monitor, and a Key Tronic 101 enhanced keyboard. It sells
for $4195.

The unit I tested was equipped with 4 megabytes of RAM
and a Maxtor 150-megabyte 5 %-inch ESDI hard disk drive in
place of the Seagate unit. Instead of a monochrome display, it
had a Paradise VGA Plus 16 board and an NEC MultiSync 2A
monitor, and it had a total of 64K bytes of RAM cache. This
configuration costs a reasonable $7495,

I used the Blackship as my primary work computer every day
for about six weeks. Most of the time I used the extended RAM
and a supplied driver to emulate EMS memory for a disk cache.
With the disk cache, it took my Lotus Agenda files, whose cate¬
gory list and heavy disk activity had outgrown my old 80286
system, and made that program useful again. Without the disk
cache, though, I had to wait—albeit less than before—for Agen¬
da to respond.

None of the other many application programs I tried failed on
the Blackship. It also ran multiple programs using DESQview
with no problem. However, the Blackship made its real worth
dear while processing numbers and VGA graphics. Two nota¬
ble examples were drawing Maplnfo’s detailed maps and plot¬
ting the heavens with an obscure astronomy program called
EZCosmos. Both programs do calculations and plotting that,
on a slower machine, would leave you tapping your fingers.

The unit is a standard desktop design. Inside, the system lay¬
out is easy to work with, and I had no trouble accessing periph¬
eral cards. Neither did the system have any trouble working
with a CompuCom 8-bit 2400-bps modem card 1 tried. The
Blackship has five 16-bit and two 8-bit slots for add-in cards. It

also has one 32-bit slot for the 32-bit memory card, which was
installed in my unit. You can expand the memory to 16 mega¬
bytes, although you 11 need to buy a daughterboard to exceed 8
megabytes.

The system comes with a one-year parts and labor warranty
that’s handled exclusively by the manufacturer, so you’ll have
to send your system back for warranty service. Though not toll-
free, the company’s customer support is courteous, fast, and
competent. When I experienced a problem that turned out to be
just an improperly seated drive controller (probably caused by
shipping), the company’s technical-support staff provided me
with solid technical advice.

Overall, the Blackship did an average job on the benchmark
tests , and better than some of the big name-brand systems. Con¬
sidering its reasonable price, it’s easy to recommend this com¬
puter, —Dennis Alien

Compaq Desk pro 386/33

Although the Compaq Deskpro 386/33 was not the fastest sys¬
tem tested—either in raw CPU power or in the BYTE cumula¬
tive application index—it did score impressive results. Thanks
to its 64K-byte cache (with 25-ns static RAM), it was the
fourth-fastest system in the BYTE CPU test. In the BYTE appli¬
cation index, it was the f ifth-fastest system overall and the fast¬
est system that did not use a special hardware disk cache.

The standard Model 84 comes with 2 megabytes of memory.

continued

Your computer system snipped in

2.880 minutes

Your computer system shipped in

48 hours

Your computer system shipped in

2 days

No matter how you say it,
that's quick!

Now the two most popular industrial
computers are being shipped tn 46
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*ABOUT OUR PRICING AND DELIVERY

These two high reliability industrial quality com¬
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can ship them, equipped exactly as shown, fully
tested and burned in. within 48 hours after accep¬
tance of your order. Prices shown are for single
unit orders, net, f.o.b. Houston. Other models and
options available on 4 week delivery. Quantity
pricing is available.

TO PLACE AN ORDER OR OBTAIN MORE INFORMATION,
CONTACT YOUR NEAREST AUTHORIZED TEXAS
MICROSYSTEMS SALES REPRESENTATIVE, OR CALL OUR
HEADQUARTERS, DIRECT:

1 - 800 - 627-8700

Rack mounted, rugged , W slot passive
backplane , with 12,5 MHz 60286 CPU

Model 2001 high reliability computer

* Fully compatible with AT™ hardware
and software

* 1 MByte RAM on CPU card

* 20 MByte hard disk

* 1,2 MByte 5.25 inch floppy drive
*2 serial, 1 parallel I/O port

* Controller for floppy and hard disks

* EGA video controller

* 101 key keyboard

* DOS 3.3A

* One year on-site GE service policy

* FCC Class f 'A" certified

Rack mounted, rugged, 14 slot passive
backplane, with 20 MHz 60386 CPU

Model 3014 high reliability computer

* Fully compatible with AT/386 hard¬
ware and software

* 1 MByte RAM on CPU card

* 40 MByte hard disk

* 1.2 MByte 5.25 inch floppy drive

* 2 serial, 1 parallel I/O port

* Controller for floppy and hard
disks

* EGA video controller

* 101 key keyboard

* DOS 3.3A

* One year on-site GE service policy

* FCC Class "A" certified

ALL

FOR,

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INCORPORATED

10618 Rock ley Road * Houston. Texas 77099
(713) 933-8050

Designers and manufacturers of quality computers for more than a decade

GE on-site service
avajiabfe neitonwide
Cootorms To FCC Class
A requirements

22 Fall 1989 * BYTE IBM Special Edition

Circle 246 on Reader Service Card

Our Printer Sharing Unit
Does Networking!

An integrated Solution

Take our Master Switch ™, a sophisticated
sharing device, combine it with MasterNet r "
networking software for PCs T and you’ve
got an integrated solution for printer and
plotter sharing, file transfer, electronic mail,
and a lot more. Of course you can also
share modems, minis, and mainframes or
access the network remotely. Installation
and operation is very simple.

Versatile

Or you can use the Master Switch to
link any computer or peripheral with a serial
or parallel interface. The switch accepts
over 20 commands for controlling the flow
of data. It may be operated automatically,
by command, or with interactive menus. Its
buffer is expandable to one megabyte and
holds up to 64 simultaneous jobs. The

MasterLi nk™ utility diskette for PCs
comes with every unit and unleashes the
power of the switch with its memory-resident
access to the commands and menus.

Other Products

We have a full line of connectivity solutions.
If you just want printer sharing, weVe got

^<%4e to yoon comfcuten

it. We also have automatic switches, code-
activated switches, buffers, converters,
cables, protocol converters, multiplexers,
line drivers, and other products.

Commitment to Excellence

At Rose Electronics, we’re not satisfied
until you're satisfied. That’s why we have
thousands of customers around the world
including large, medium, and small
businesses, factories, stores, educational
institutions, and Federal, state, and local
governments. We back our products with
full technical support, a one-year warranty,
and a thirty-day money-back guarantee.

Call now for literature or
more information.

(800) 333-9343

P.O. Box 742571 • Houston, Texas 77274 • Tel (713) 933-7673 • FAX (713) 933-0044 • Telex 4948886

Circle 230 on Reader Service Card

WEITEK CORPORATION

TUESDAYS, THE SHIPMENT OF TIME ARRIVES EARLY.

But what if they needed more? What then?

■ If time could be manufactured, you’d buy it. Weitek’s Abacus 3167 math coprocessor comes close.
It can give a 386-based computer 2X to 3X its normal speed—workstation-level performance—f
less than $1,000. With high-end CAD, CAM, engineering and math applications like VersaCAD,
Amvil-5000pc, CADKEY, Mathematica and many others. You can readily install Abacus and
its 2X to 3X speed in machines from Compaq, H-P, AST, Zenith, Dell, Everex and many
more manufacturers. And two times speed equals two times as much time for you.

Call Weitek Corporation at 1-800-HOT-3167 or see your dealer. Soon.

WEITEK is a registered trademark of WEITEK CORPORATION . AH other company and product names are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective holders. ©1989 WEITEK CORPORATION

Circle 264 on Reader Service Card

Circle 219 on Reader Service Lard (DEALERS: im

Intelligent

SCSI

Controllers

for NetWare,
OS/2 & DOS

• Novell DCB compatible

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• Works with 33 MHz systems

• Available now.

Dealers and Distributors wanted.

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6801 Engle Road
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PAX (216) 234-2233
Pbone: (216) 234-6387

Trademarks: NetWare—Novell, Inc.; OS/2—Microsofl Coro.;
PS/2—IBM Cotp.; PROCOMP is an MT company.

DURANT

Unintemiptable
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See us ai COMDEX/FALL H9
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MEGAHERTZ MADNESS

For additional memory, you must use an expansion board,
which fits into a special 32-bit expansion slot. This board has
room for seven 2-megabyte memory modules (at a rather hefty
$1299 each), bringing the total memory capacity up to 16
megabytes.

The unit we received had 4 megabytes of RAM, a 33-MHz
80387 math coprocessor, a second 1.44-megabyte 5% -inch
floppy disk drive, a Compaq Advanced Graphics 1024 control¬
ler, a Compaq Advanced Graphics color monitor, a Compaq
2400-bps internal modem, a 40-megabyte tape drive, MS-DOS
4.01, and OS/2 1,1. Total price for this system is $ 19,657.

In physical appearance, the Compaq system looks like a
standard desktop AT clone, considerably larger than the com¬
pany’s other 80386 systems, such as the Deskpro 386/20e. The
standard configuration consists of a 1.2-megabyte floppy disk
drive, an 84-megabyte hard disk drive, and a VGA controller on
the motherboard. One nice touch is the inclusion of a Micro-
soft-compatible mouse connector on the back panel.

Along with the VGA controller ts a VGA pass-through con¬
nector. This connector appears to have the same function as the
VGA lines on IBM’s Micro Channel bus. If you purchase Com¬
paq’s Advanced Graphics 1024 board (the company’s equiva¬
lent to IBM’s high-resolution 8514/A controller), the VGA
pass-through connector allows the Advanced Graphics board to
display high-resolution 1024- by 768-pixel graphics as well as
standard VGA graphics.

Like many high-end systems, the Compaq has room for five
half-height storage devices. But the Compaq system has one ad¬
ditional feature. On the back panel is a removable grill that
allows access to the two rear drive bays. Although Compaq
does not spell this out, this possibly could allow all five of the
drive bays to be used for removable media, such as floppy disk
drives, tape drives, optical drives, or removable magnetic
drives. This, along with the system’s password protection
scheme, indicates that the system could be used well as a file
server.

The motherboard seems clean, although I did spot two
jumpers. The two sockets that you will most probably need—
those for the 80387 and the Weitek 3167 coprocessors—are

continued

26 Fall 1989

BYTE

Circle 91 on Reader Service Card
(DEALERS: 92)

a| | ■■■ 0

“iIt’s a simple formulai

The more power under the

hood, the faster you go. Well,

1 just found a 386PC with a

Ferrari engine”

^ HI m

An Unbeatable Formula:

Zenith's Z-386/33 & Award-Winning
Flat Technology Monitor

Graphics simulate Microsoft* Windows, a product and trademark of Microsoft
Corporation. MS-DOS, MS OS/2, Microsoft Windows/386 and Xenix are
registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. SCO is a trademark of The
Santa Cruz Operation, Inc. Inlel386 is a trademark of Intel Corporation

•Source: Power Meter™ V1.5, The Database Group, Inc, Upland, CA. MIPS: Millions of Instructions Per Second

'NITH

data

systems

THE QUALITY GOES IN BEFORE THE NAME GOES ON*

ZENITH INNOVATES AGAIN ”

Racing at 8.2 MIPS,* Zenith shatters the 33MHz speed barrier with
one of the fastest Intel386 m workstations ever built

Even after you see it, you still might not believe that any 386/33 workstation
can deliver such unprecedented speed and reliability as Zenith Data Systems’
Z-386/33. But it’s true.

Up to 30% faster than many 25MHz desktops, Zenith’S Z-386/33 even
exceeds the limits of other 33MHz systems. In fact, its super-fast processor, disk
and memory subsystems give you uncompromising performance. So you can
blaze through the most demanding scientific, engineering and manufacturing
applications at an almost unheard of 8.2 MIPS.

For those who need 25MHz power, there’s the Zenith Z-386/25. It, too, gives
you high-powered file serving, CAD/CAM/CAE, multi-tasking and multi-user
capabilities. And each lets you take advantage of thousands of industry standard
peripherals as well as such advanced operating environments as MS OS/2®
and SCO™ Xenix!

Both 32-bit powerhouse workstations also let you add hard drives and up
to 64MB of memory to keep pace with your growing needs. Plus, they come
standard with MS-DOS! And all hard
drive models even include Microsoft®

Windows/386.

So if you need a faster workstation—
or the fastest —shift into overdrive with
Zenith’s Z-386/25 or Z-386/33 today.

For the name of your nearest Zenith Data
Systems authorized dealer, call:

1-800-553-0350.

Circle 272 on Reader Service Card

Circle 20 on Reader Service Card

SDLC/HDLC/X.25

$289 SDLC/HDLC Secondary Stn. $689 Primary Link
$889 Virtual Circuit Network $889 X.25 DTE.
Management Software

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backbone of LAPB stations creating a subnet interconnecting &
providing end-to-end virtual circuit services
•IBM Physical Layer — full/half duplex data rates up to 9600 bps. —
synchronous with or without modems
•Synch-Series II provides run-time libraries, network traffic
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•Synch-Series II is user friendly, providing pop-up windows for
network definitions & queries

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MEGAHERTZ MADNESS

easy to access. The design may still be in flux, however. Just
before the product was announced, the floppy disk drive con¬
troller was moved from the motherboard to an expansion card.
And although Compaq says that the system’s hard disk drive
controller is on an expansion card as well, on our system it
seemed to be on the motherboard.

Compaq should be commended for a number of small de¬
tails: for example, the easy way that the system cover can be
removed (via two small thumbscrews), the mouse connector on
the back panel, and a Setup program that allows you to quickly
set the system up. Some things were less than admirable, in¬
cluding Compaq’s use of Torx screws inside the system.

The system comes with a one-year warranty. No on-site ser¬
vice or other service contracts are available directly from
Compaq.

At a list price of $10,499 for an 84-megabyte system, the
Compaq is surely one of the more expensive systems around.
Even with a street price considerably lower, it will still be an
expensive system. But Compaq has a reputation for quality, and
this system does a lot to uphold that reputation. The high cost of
the Deskpro 386/33 should buy a substantial amount of peace of
mind. —Rich Malloy

Dyna Cache 386

Dyna Computer takes a smorgasbord approach to constructing
a 33-MHz 80386; you start with an AMI motherboard and
BIOS, and then select from a list of recommended subsystem
components. The machine I tested was a sturdy, tower-style
unit configured to provide the best performance for under
$10,000. The Dyna Cache 386 was an able performer, coming
in sixth in BYTE’s cumulative application index.

In addition to a switchable (8- or 33-MHz) 80386 and an
80387, our test machine included 4 megabytes of 70-ns DRAM
on the motherboard with room for 4 more megabytes on
SIMMs, and up to 8 additional megabytes on a 32-bit add-in

continued

28 Fall 1989

BYTE

Circle 269 on Reader Service Card

A^'ro^C

l ZL e ' Co*; J. p.C ’

e <ers. T ? 3 ct° r ^
Center jailer*

pa ta

ip |uS

The

SYSTEMIZER
PLUS

The Uniuersal
External Network

Up to 31
users can

• Share Printers

• Share Plotters Sr

• Share a Modem

• Share a FAX

• Exchange E-MAIL

• Transfer Datafiles

Example: 17 micros (mixed brands, some on a LAN) and a mainframe, each
equipped with a Systemizer Plus, sharing 3 printers, a plotter, and EMAIL.

Systemizing has become the connectivity standard
at many of the world's largest corporations and
throughout the federal government. Ten's of thou¬
sands are already in use. The new Systemizer Plus
is the latest model in Applied Creative Technology's
line of Systemizing products, and it delivers what
95% of corporate computer users want from a
Local Area Network— at far less cost and com¬
plexity, and yet with much more versatility.

Corporate computing managers prefer Systemizing
over other connectivity methods because it offers:

• Up to 62 10 ports, each parallel and serial capable.

• Compatibility. Mix PC's, LAN's, mainframes, laptops.

• Easy owner installation. Low cost cabling.

• 5 min. user training with no support needed after.

• Flexibility; readily accomodates growth and changes.

• Powerful distributed buffering (up to 31 Megabytes)

• Distributed processing for high speed and reliability.

The

Call 1-800-433-5373

CON INEXPERTS

A Division of Applied Creative Technology Inc.

to get a FREE demo!

8333 Douglas Ave., Suite 700
Dallas, Texas 75225 U.S.A.

(214) 358-4800

Circle 19 on Reader Service Card

MEGAHERTZ MADNESS

Altos 386 Series 1000:
For Unix Only

U nlike the other machines in this
roundup, the Altos 386 Series
1000 does not run MS-DOS except as a
guest of the Unix operating system. The
Altos does not have an AT bus, a Micro
Channel bus, or any other bus, for that
matter. It is engineered to run Unix.
The AT bus machines are not designed
to run a full 32-bit operating system; the
Altos machine is.

The 33-MHz Altos has everything
except the serial I/O on the mother¬
board. The basic system comes with
eight serial ports, a tape drive, a 40-
megabyte SCSI hard disk drive, and 4
megabytes of RAM. Both the CPU data
and address buses are 32 bits wide. Per¬
formance is further enhanced by a 32K-
byte memory cache. You can expand the
RAM to 24 megabytes, the hard disk
storage to 300 megabytes, and the ports
to 24, but all these upgrades require
proprietary hardware, which you must
buy from Altos.

Unlike with AT-style Unix com¬
puters, the Altos’s console, as well as
any terminals, are connected to serial
ports. Typical of all the newer Altos
boxes, the machine stands on end and
slips under a desk. All ports and switch¬
es are on the back. Only the floppy disk
drive and tape drive are on the front.

The Altos falls into the category of
general-purpose Unix engine. It is not
your lightweight AT-bus machine, nor
is it the heavy-duty mainframe serving

hundreds of users. It will serve an office
or department well. When our Unix
minicomputer failed, the Altos filled in
very easily. In fact, it outperformed the
five-year-old 68020-based minicomput¬
er on every function, even though you
might mistake it for a 20-inch-high dwarf
version of the 5-foot minicomputer.

The Altos ran most of the low-level
BYTE Unix benchmarks (beta version)
at 65 percent to 90 percent of the perfor¬
mance of the Everex Step 386/33 run¬
ning SCO 386 Xenix, but it excelled in a
few areas. It created subprocesses twice
as fast as the Everex. But the bench¬
marks showed the Altos able to read,
write, and copy file segments at a phe¬
nomenal 10 times the rate of the Everex.
If you plan to run database applications,
this machine is considerably better than
any other 80386 in its class.

Usually we don’t focus on operating
systems in a hardware roundup, but on
Unix machines, the quality of the oper¬
ating system and compiler is as impor¬
tant as the hardware. Altos Unix is a
mix of Unix System V, Berkeley Unix,
and Xenix. The entire system is de¬
signed to work to the best advantage of
both the hardware and the operating sys¬
tem. The disadvantage is that every¬
thing is a little bit different than on any
other Unix system.

In fact, everything about the Altos is
just a little bit different. You can’t buy it
from your average computer vendor;

card. Cache memory consisted of 64K bytes of 20-ns SRAM.
The 16-bit Quadrex VGA board with 256K bytes of shadow
RAM made the Dyna Cache one of the fastest machines in the
scientific/engineering application benchmark category. The
system came with a Mitsubishi Diamond Scan monitor.

Storage devices included a Western Digital ESDI controller
supporting 1.2- and 1.44-megabyte TEAC floppy disk drives
and a Micropolis 147-megabyte ESDI drive with an average
seek time of 18 ms. This combination proved slower than many
of the other machines in our low-level disk I/O benchmarks.

Our test system had one parallel port, one serial port, and a
game port on a Courier I/O card (which occupied two card
slots), and a second parallel port on the Quadrex card. The
backplane had eight slots; one 8-bit, six 16-bit, and one 8-/32-
bit. Four of the 16-bit slots were occupied. The system can hold
one more full-height or two half-height storage devices.

Compatibility was generally good. The machine worked
flawlessly with a variety of add-in cards and application pro¬
grams. Overall, the Dyna Cache 386 is a well-designed, well-
built, and competitively priced machine. — Rob Mitchell

Everex Step 386/33

30 Fall 1989 • BYTE IBM Special Edition

MEGAHERTZ MADNESS

you must go to an Altos value-added re¬
seller or a systems house. If you need a
good Unix engine for your office and
require a generic system, the Altos
gives you a lot of performance, and you
won't have to find someone other than
your vendor to support both the hard¬
ware and the operating system. But, as
with any proprietary system, you must
go totally with Altos or not at all.

—Ben Smith

For raw CPU speed, the Everex Step 386/33 is the fastest PC
we’ve ever tested. Its 6.84 CPU index narrowly beats ALR's
33-MHz machine. On the application side, the Everex didn't
fane quite as well; it placed tenth among the 33-MHz PCs, Add¬
ing a hardware disk cache would significantly improve its
performance.

For $7599, you get an Everex-designed motherboard, 4
megabytes of 100-ns RAM (expandable to 16 megabytes), an
AT-style hard disk drive controller, a 1,2-megabyte 5 *4-inch
TEAC floppy disk drive, and an adequate 200-W power supply.
Our evaluation unit came with 4 megabytes of RAM, a 160-
megabyte Control Data hand disk drive and ESDI controller, a
33-MHz 80387 math coprocessor, a Renaissance RVGA II
board, and a 14-inch multisync VGA monitor for a total price of
$10,945.

Like all Everex machines, the Step 386/33 is well engi¬
neered. The motherboard is free from the wire fixes often
found on early-production PCs, and it is housed in a sturdier-
than-most stainless steel case. Everex uses a 64K-byte, 20-ns
RAM cache of its own design.

Unlike most other 33-MHz PCs, the Step 386/33 provides
only one serial and one parallel port. Its eight expansion slots
include two 8-bit and six 16-bit slots. All memory mounts on
the motherboard, eliminating the need for 32-bit memory-ex¬
pansion slots. The case can accommodate up to five half-height
storage devices. A switch on the front panel allows you to set the
operating speed to 8, 16, or 33 MHz.

Though not the least expensive PC in this group, the Everex
Step 386/33 is priced reasonably, and its performance speaks
for itself. Everex is a midsize PC maker with a solid reputation;
buying its 33-MHz PC is a relatively safe choice.

—Michael E. Nadeau

FlveStar 386

FiveStar Electronics' 386 machine comes in two main configu¬
rations. The base Model 333 has 1 megabyte of RAM, an
Award BIOS, a 1.2-megabyte 5 l 4-inch (or 1.44-megabyte 3 V 2 -
inch) floppy disk drive, and an I/O card with serial, parallel,
and game ports. The cost is $3395.

The Model 33/D, which we tested, is built around the same
Micronics 09-00021 motherboard but comes with 4 megabytes
of RAM, a 90-megabyte Control Data ESDI hard disk drive and
controller, DOS 4.0, and an extra serial port and a clock/calen¬
dar on the I/O card. The unit also has an 80387 math copro¬
cessor, a FastWrite VGA card driving an NEC MultiSync
monitor, and a year's worth of on-site service through General
Electric for a total cost of $8179.

The FiveStar's 33-MHz chip operates at 6, 8, or 33 MHz,
selectable by software, or you can select 33- or 8-MHz speeds
using a push button/digital readout on the front panel. The 32K-
byte, zero-wait-state hardware cache uses the Intel 82385 cache
controller. As you can see from the benchmark results, the
FiveStar Model 33/D falls about in the middle of the pack on
the CPU benchmarks. It led the pack in the FPU tests, but here
the differences between systems were minor.

The Micronics motherboard provides five 16-bit AT slots
(two of which, in our system, were taken up by the disk and
video controllers), two 8-bit slots (one of ours contained the
serial/parallei/dock/calendar half-card), and a proprietary 32-
bit slot for system memory.

The hard disk is driven by the Distributed Processing Tech¬
nology (DPT) SmartCache controller for ESDI drives, which

continued

B Y T E IBM Special Edition • Fall 1989 31

Circle 214 on Keader service Lard

MATHPAK 87v 3.0 Sow available for Turbo C & MS C

Over 180 assembler coded
routines which arc designed
to take full advantage of
80x87 math coprocessors.

Designed for Speed
Up to 20 X faster than high level
language!

1 K complex FFT on a 386/20
takes 0.25s; real 0.12s (2.0s &

1.1s on an IBM XT); dot
product (length 10,000) in
0.08s (0.49s on XT).

MATHPAK 87 provides you
with the fastest , most con¬
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MATHPAK 87 v3.0 includes : 67 vector/scalar routines; 27 complex vec¬
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(windows: Parzen, Hamming, ...); routines for non-linear equations,
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KEYBOARD PROTECTOR

Merritt Computer Products, Inc. 5565 Red Bird Center Drive
Suite 150. Dallas. Texas 75234/(214} 339-0753 • FAX (214) 339-1313
In Canada call 1-800-663-1061

MEGAHERTZ MADNESS

conies with 512K bytes of RAM on-board. The SmartCache’s
usefulness is attested to by the Model 33/D’s excellent perfor¬
mance in the disk I/O benchmarks.

The video card in the Model 33/D is a FastWrite VGA card
from Video Seven. This too has 512K bytes of on-board RAM.
The memory card in our unit contained 4 megabytes of system
RAM in 80-ns DRAMs. The system can hold up to 8 megabytes
on the memory board, or up to 16 megabytes with an optional 8-
megabyte daughtercard.

Opening up the case, we found the FiveStar to be a nice,
cleanly designed machine, with room for four more mass stor¬
age devices. According to its manual, the FiveStar comes with a
one-year warranty on materials and workmanship. The com¬
pany maintains a toll-free number for service.

The cost of the FiveStar is about what you’d pay for a simi¬
larly equipped system from many of the other vendors. If your
applications tend to be disk-intensive, the ESDI drive and
SmartCache combination might make this the system for you.

—Ken Sheldon

Matrix MDP 386-33

The MDP 386-33 features a Micronics motherboard in a tower
enclosure. It is an AT compatible with five 16-bit, two 8-bit,
and one dedicated memory slot. The speed of the I/O bus is
hardware-switch-selectable between 8.1 and 11 MHz. In its
basic configuration, the MDP 386-33 has two serial ports, a
parallel port, a game port, and a DTC 7280 hard/floppy disk
drive controller with a 1.2-megabyte floppy disk drive. It also
has 4 megabytes of DRAM and 32K bytes of static RAM
(SRAM) for the memory cache.

The interior layout makes it easy to configure and upgrade
the machine. The I/O slots, configuration DIP switches and
jumpers, 80387 socket, and sockets for added cache memory
are easily accessible. The motherboard is free of visible
jumpers. The machine I tested came with a Phoenix BIOS
ROM; an Award BIOS ROM is also available. I encountered no
hardware or software compatibility problems.

continued

32 Fall 1989

BYTE

Circle 174 on Reader Service Card

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Circle 151 on Reader Service Card

KERNEL

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MEGAHERTZ MADNESS

The one problem I found with the design of the machine in¬
volves the memory slot. Either the alignment of the slot with the
mounting bracket is off or the slot is too close to the bracket,
because the memory card is bent slightly. This didn’t affect the
operation of the machine for the three weeks I used it, but the
stress that the bend creates could cause long-term problems
with the sockets for the memory chips.

To keep the bottleneck between the processor and memory as
free as possible, the system uses a 32K-byte direct map or two-
way set-associative memory cache (hardware-selectable). The
cache consists of 25-ns SRAM chips that provide zero-wait-
state performance. The cache hit rate is about 96 percent. On a
cache miss, the system accesses the 80-ns DRAMs that form
the main memory. This memory access entails two wait states.
Both the SRAM on the motherboard and the DRAM in the
memory slot run at 33 MHz*

The SRAM cache is upgradable to 64K bytes; the added 32K
bytes brings the hit rate up another percentage point. Main
memory is expandable to 8 megabytes on the memory board,
and to 16 megabytes using a daughterboard.

With a CPU index of 5.75, the Matrix MDP 386-33 finished
(albeit barely) in the top half of its class—an excellent showing
considering its price. The problem with the Matrix machine,
and the reason it brought up the rear in the application bench¬
marks, is its disk subsystem. The controller uses an ST-506 in¬
terface—a good ST-506, to be sure, but an ST-506 nonetheless.
Using this interface in a 33-MHz machine is nearly criminal,
as the disk and application benchmarks show* A high-powered
machine needs a fast disk interface* Matrix supplies optional
ESDI interfaces; it should make them standard.

One application area where the Matrix machine excelled is
the scientific/engineering benchmarks. The review unit came
with a high-resolution, 16-bit, PaeLIT VGA board which, in
conjunction with the machine’s very good CPU and FPU per¬
formance, made the MDP 386-33 a tempting choice ($7190
with the VGA board and 72-megabyte hard disk drive) as a
CA D work st at ion.

Buying a Matrix MDP 386-33 won't give you that warm,
fuzzy feeling you might get with a Compaq, but it can save you
money—even after you shell out the extra $1425 for the 145-
megabyte ESDI disk upgrade option* Don't use it as a file server
on large networks, but do consider it for less-disk-intensive ap¬
plications* —Bob Ryan

Micro Express ME 386-33

Distinguishing itself from some of the 33-MHz pack, Micro
Express provides a caching disk drive controller in the ME 386-
33 to help it avoid I/O bottlenecks. The controller, which is
included in the base system price, helped place the ME 386-33
among the top I/O performers. Depending on the hard disk
drive used* you can choose either an ESDI or an ST-506 DPT
controller, each providing 1-to-l interleaving and 512K bytes
of on-board memory.

The BYTE benchmark tests ranked the Micro Express third
fastest in disk speed, while its CPU speed placed a modest elev¬
enth. But the controller helped the ME 386-33 to perform re¬
spectably in the database, scientific/engineering, and compiler
application tests. Notably, the system scored second overall in
cumulative application performance.

However, even though our evaluation unit used a 150-mega-
byte ESDI hard disk drive, the controller recognized only 133
megabytes of formatted space. The company says the controller

continued

34 Fall 1989

BYTE

Circle 255 on Reader Service Card

Circle 83 on Reader Service Card

Building quality into our computers
is not the solution to a problem,
But the creation of an asset.

SYSTEM V

206-16 MHZ NOVAS NEAT MOTHERBOARD
EGA MONITOR
EGA ADAPTER
1MB RAM

12 MB 5-1/4 FLOPPY
1 44 MB 3*1/2 FLOPPY
40 MB HARD DRIVE

MULTI I/O 1 PARALLEL 2 SERIAL 1 GAME

REAL TIME CLOCK

FD/HD CONTROLLER

101 ENHANCED KEYBOARD

200 WATTS POWER SUPPLY

DOS 3.3 GW BASIC „ ^

PHOENIX OR AWARD BIOS $2,692.00

SYSTEM VHUTOWER

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* (MOTHERBOARD tS GUARANTEED FOR $ YEARS)

VGA SUPER SYNC
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1.2 MB 6-1/4 FLOPPY
144 MB 3-1/2 FLOPPY

100 MB HARO DRIVE WITH CONTROLLER
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DEALERS INQUIRIES WELCOMED!

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^Circle 43 on Header Service Lard [U&ALtKS: 44)

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Fenton. Missouri 63026

Kepro Circuit Systems, Inc.

MEGAHERTZ MADNESS

doesn’t acknowledge disk space above 1024 cylinders in DOS,
idling the remaining 17 megabytes. But Micro Express claims
that DPT has developed an extended BIOS that will plug into an
existing controller socket and allow use of the fpll disk space.
Micro Express plans to offer the extended BIOS as a standard
component with future ME 386-33 systems.

In other respects, the ME 386-33 sports a clean and typical
design. Its American Megatrends, Inc. (AMI) motherboard is
uncluttered and allows for eight expansion boards to be in¬
stalled in one 8-bit, one 32-bit, and six 16-bit compartments.

A standard 4 megabytes of RAM comes with the machine.
Eight logic chips provide a 64K-byte 20-ns static cache. Mem¬
ory can be expanded to 8 megabytes on the main board or to 16
megabytes with an expansion board. The motherboard also in¬
cludes four SIMM sockets. The system accepts either an Intel
80387 or a Weitek math coprocessor chip.

A 15-month repair warranty covers parts and labor. The
company also provides a telephone service that allows custom¬
ers to call technicians about machine problems. In some cases,
you can arrange to have replacement boards sent or, if neces¬
sary, ship the entire computer back to the company for service.

The base ME 386-33 sells for $5995 and includes either a
1.2-megabyte 5*4-inch or a 1.44-megabyte 3 Vi-inch floppy
disk drive, one parallel and two serial ports, and a 101-key key¬
board. Our evaluation system had a 150-megabyte ESDI hard
disk drive ($1500), a VGA Plus card and an NEC MultiSync 2A
monitor ($750), an 80387 math coprocessor ($750), and two
floppy disk drives. At $9125, this system demands less than top
dollar for near-high-end performance. —Alan Joch

National Microsystems Flash 386-33

The Flash 386-33 would make its comic-book namesake proud.
Built around a 33-MHz Micronics motherboard and a DPT
high-speed caching disk controller, the unit turned in excep¬
tional benchmark times—often outrunning the bigger-name
systems. The base price for the Flash 386-33, which includes 4
megabytes of memory, a disk drive controller, a floppy disk

continued

36 Fall 1989

BYTE

Circle 155 on Reader Service Card

IT Hz SO GOOD!

INTRODUCING HAIPPAUGE’S 33MHz SYSTEM BOARDS.

If your computer feels slow, we know where it hertz. For a hist cure, get our
new 386 MotberBoard/33MHz. We’ve built in 4 Megabytes of high speed
RAM, 64K of RAM cache, and both 387 Weitek math coprocessor sockets.This
board makes your 386 computer the fastest PC available!

Netw ork Savvy. With the 386 MothcrBoard/33MHz, you can build
a file server or workstation that makes Novell networks scream . Enjoy
compatibility with Token Ring, Arcnet, Ethernet, and other network cards.

Tile UNIX Engine. Great for VARS, Systems Integrators and UNIX
OEMs, the Hauppauge 386 MotherBoard/33MHz runs SCO Xenix, Interactive
386/ix and AT&T’s U NIX System Y With its PC/AT compatible I/O system,
our 33MHz board accommodate the latest in disk control, graphics, and
network I/O cards.

CAD Capability: Do your AutoCAD and other CAD programs seem slow?

The 386 MotherBoard/33MHz boosts your math and graphics applications,
and supports the high speed 387-33 and 33MHz Weitek math coprocessors.

Technical Features. The386MotherBoard/33MHy. includes:

■ i Megabytes of high speed 32-bit memory, expandable to 64 Megabytes

■ 64K of 20 nsec cache memory ■ Six 16 -bit expansion slots, one 8-bit and
one 8-bit/32-bit slot ■ PC/AT compatible I/O system for support of OS/2
and UNIX.

Yes, send me your product information!

Name_

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Mail Coupon to:

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175 Commerce Drive
Hauppauge. New York 11788. U.SA
Tel: 01-516-434-1600
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Haasaallee 201

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Tel: 0211-594320
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For more information call Hauppauge,

(516) 434-1600. In Europe: (49) 211-594320.

Hauppauge Computer Works
Your high performance 386 Supplier

Trademarks. IBM PC XT. AT. PS l ami OS/2 IBM. Intel $86 Intel b»rp : Umdmv.Wv Mkrusoft Onrp. DESQview. Quarterdeck Circle 127 OH Reader Service Card

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MEGAHERTZ MADNESS

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Route 1, Box 639G, Sanger, TX 76266

drive, a 200-W power supply, and a keyboard, is $4999. With
the hard disk drive, VGA video system, and math coprocessor
that our review unit had, the complete system rings up at $7995.

The Micronics design puts all system memory on a daughter-
card that fits in a proprietary 32-bit slot. Total 32-bit memory
capacity, which will require a piggyback unit in addition to the
daughterboard, runs up to 16 megabytes. The unit we tested
had a daughterboard half-filled with 80-ns, 1-megabit DRAM,
bringing the system RAM to 4 megabytes. A 33-MHz Intel
82385 manages the 25-ns, 64K-byte static cache.

The CPU memory subsystem performed admirably on our
low-level benchmarks, placing the Flash 386-33 solidly along¬
side Compaq’s entry. CPU performance also contributed to the
Flash 386-33’s strong showing on our application tests.

Other system board features include a DIP switch-selectable
bus speed of 8.25 or 11 MHz, five 16-bit and two 8-bit slots, a
Phoenix ROM BIOS, and 80387 support. The unit can also run
a Weitek 3167 with an adapter card. Since high bus speeds
often mean compatibility problems, we ran all our benchmarks
at the default 8.25-MHz bus speed.

Disk I/O performance was another key in the Flash 386-33’s
outstanding application index. The hard disk drive unit is a 150-
megabyte Control Data ESDI drive (standard type formatting
under DOS will leave you with 127 megabytes) with a respect¬
able 18-ms average access time. National Microsystems’ stan¬
dard 33-MHz configuration also includes DPT’s SmartCache
disk controller, outfitted with 512K bytes of RAM. Low-level
disk benchmarks best illustrate the dramatic effect of the
SmartCache—systems with the controller (the SI A 386/33, the
Micro Express ME 386-33, and the Flash 386-33) all had disk
I/O indexes higher than 6, while noncached units typically
scored in the mid-2’s. If you plan to use the Flash 386-33 as a
file server and need really screaming disk performance, you
can add cache memory to the controller up to a ceiling of 16
megabytes.

Peripherals such as a reasonably comfortable Chicony key¬
board and a Sony VGA monitor round out the Flash 386-33.
Video speed was disappointing, but the Sony monitor is easy on
the eyes and provides good contrast. —Steve Apiki

continued

38 Fall 1989 • B Y T E IBM Special Edition

High capacity and networking solutions from 90 MB to 4 gigabytes for Compaq®,
IBM®, AST®, Epson®, Hyundai®, NEC* and leading compatibles.

W ’ ith CMS Enhancements, you can
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corrections in meeting your computer
mass storage needs. That's because CMS
Enhancements provides the total solutions to
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5 across _

SCSI technology that can be daisy-chained for up to 4 gigabytes of
storage. 90,180,300,600MB capacities; 16-18ms*

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Highest speed ESDI drives for IBM PS/2 models 60 and 80.150
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Also compatible with Hyundai® {16 BIT), NEC® Powennate Series. Epson® Equity Senes and Hewlett Packard® Vectra Series.

• Also compatible with IBM® PS/2 Model 60, AST® Premium Series, Compaq® Deskpro Senes. Epson Equity Series, Hyundai and Hewlett Packard Vectra Series.

So contact your nearest CMS
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For the name and telephone number of
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) CMS logo is i rrpacred tndeaaik of CMS Enhancements. Inc. Al otter products aid brand lames arc registered tradraaris erf ihnr respective cotnpaun
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Circle 47 on Reader Serv ice Card (DEALERS: 48)

Getting a network off the ground is easy
with AIX." Because AIX, IBM’s enriched version
of the UNIX* operating system, brings a whole
new standard of performance, documentation
and security to the open systems environment.

■\7 | * . In fact, AIX has improved

Your plans to connect upon other UNIX systems

up all your systems
will fly a lot easier with AIX.

in so many ways, the Open
Software Foundation

recently chose
AIX as its core
operating system.

AIX gives you a very high degree of
flexibility. AIX lets you create a transparent net¬
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vendors-from SUN® to DEC® to AT&T® and HP.®

It also lets you link up a broad range of IBM
systems—from the PS/2® to the RT,” all the way
up to the System/370?

All for one, and one for all. AIX can inte¬
grate a network so effectively, you’d swear it was a
single system.

Distributed Services on the RT lets
everyone in the network share files, programs
and devices. And to optimize your PS/2 and
System/370 investment, AIX’s Transparent
Computing Facility lets you shift power from
one processor to another, as the need arises.

And since AIX allows you to merge DOS
and UNIX functions, you protect pur soft¬
ware investment, too.

AIX's ease of use also sets a new
standard. AIX is well documented, easy to
learn and provides connectivity through
multiple communications protocols.

So if you want to raise the quality of pur
networking, connect with pur IBM marketing
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about AIX. The one system that connects the
flexibility of open standards with all the classic
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For more information, call 1 800 IBM-2468,
ext 148. AIX from IBM. Making pur business come
together.

MEGAHERTZ MADNESS

( OMP\\\

IM'OKM \ 11<>\

Advanced Logic

Compaq Computer Corp.

Matrix Digital Products, Inc.

Systems Integration

Research, Inc.

P.O. Box 692000

1811 North Keystone St.

Associates

9401 Jeronimo

Houston, TX 77269

Burbank, CA91504

222 East Pearson, Suite 502

Irvine, CA 92718

(713) 370-0670

(800) 227-5723

Chicago, IL 60611

(714) 581-6770

Inquiry 1164.

(818) 566-8567

(312)440-1275.

Inquiry 1160.

Dyna Computer, Inc.

Inquiry 1168.

Inquiry 1172.

Altos Computer Systems

3081 North First St.

Micro Express

Tangent Computer, Inc.

2641 Orchard Pkwy.

San Jose, CA 95134

2114 South Grand Ave.

303 Beach Rd.

San Jose, CA 95134

(408) 943-0100

Santa Ana, CA 92705

Burlingame, CA 94010

(408) 432-6200

Inquiry 1165.

(800) 642-7621

(415) 342-9388

Inquiry 1161.

Everex Systems, Inc.

Inquiry 1169.

Inquiry 1173.

AST Research, Inc.

48431 Milmont Dr.

National Microsystems

Zenith Data Systems

2121 Alton Ave.

Fremont, CA 94538

2833 Peterson Place

1000 Milwaukee Ave.

Irvine, CA 92714

(415) 498-1111

Norcross, GA 30071

Glenview, IL 60025

(714) 863-1333

Inquiry 1166.

(404) 446-0520

(800) 553-0331

Inquiry 1162.

FiveStar Electronics, Inc.

Inquiry 1170.

Inquiry 1174.

Black ship Computer

2100 North Greenville Ave.

PC Link Corp.

Systems, Inc.

Richardson, TX 75081

29 West 38th St.

4031 Clipper Court

(800) 752-5555

New York, NY 10018

Fremont, CA 94538
(415) 770-9300

Inquiry 1163.

Inquiry 1167.

(800) 221-0343
(212) 730-8036

Inquiry 1171.

PC Link 386/33

I doubt that any of the other 33-MHz machines got the same
strenuous workout as the PC Link 386/33. As soon as it arrived,
I set it up in the BYTE Lab. Immediately, the hard disk drive
and the open card slots began to fill up. In addition to the stan¬
dard BYTE application benchmarks, the PC Link transferred
megabytes of data using Lap-Link and a Bernoulli Box; ran at
least three versions of Windows; tested a new 400-dot-per-inch

laser printer using Micrografx Designer 2.0; accessed BIX,
Prodigy, and BYTE’s editorial LAN; ran DESQview 386, Nor¬
ton Utilities 4.05, and Scanning Gallery with an HP ScanJet;
and negotiated the numerous small chores expected of all our
lab computers. The PC Link was up to the task. It ran every¬
thing from PageMaker 3.0 to a new desktop publishing soft¬
ware package currently in beta testing. The only hitch was an
annoying mechanical problem with the 3 , /fe-inch floppy disk
drive.

PC Link Corp. sells the 33-MHz system in two basic flavors.
Both models are based on the Hauppauge 386 Motherboard/33
and come with 4 megabytes of RAM, a 101-key Enhanced key¬
board, a 220-W power supply, one parallel and one serial port,
a 1.2-megabyte floppy disk drive, and a 16-bit Trident VGA
board. Only the disk drive type distinguishes the configura¬
tions: The Model 160 ($5995) supports a 159-megabyte, 17-ms
ESDI Micropolis hard disk drive, and the Model 330 ($6995)
packs a 330-megabyte, 18-ms ESDI Micropolis drive.

Our evaluation unit was the Model 160 with the following
options: a 1.44-megabyte 3 V^-inch floppy disk drive, a 33-MHz
80387 math coprocessor, a Video Seven 16-bit VGA adapter,
and an NEC MultiSync 3D monitor, for a total of $7818.

Three of the system’s expansion slots are occupied, leaving
four 16-bit slots free. An eighth expansion slot supports a dedi¬
cated 32-bit memory bus. A monitor is not included with any
model.

The Intel CPU can access up to 64 megabytes of 32-bit mem¬
ory. The motherboard comes stuffed with 4 megabytes of 80-ns
RAM; further memory upgrades require a card for the dedi¬
cated 32-bit memory slot. The PC Link optimizes memory ac¬
cess with a 64K-byte 20-ns cache and four banks of interleaved
DRAM. Extended memory conforms to EMS 4.0 specifica¬
tions. The motherboard also supports either an 80387-33 or a
Weitek 3167-33 math coprocessor.

continued

42 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Most good work has an edge to it.

And good work turns into a
sharp, 300-dpi, colorful, awe¬
inspiring PostScript-compatible
business weapon on theTektronix
Phaser CP Color Printer.

The Phaser CP works with a
color thermal-wax process for IBM
PC/XT/AT or bus-compatible
computers, in any variety of net¬
work configurations. So you can
finally put your color, HPGL and
PostScript-compatible applica¬
tions, not to mention every

computer user, to full use.

And in as little as 47 seconds,
you print out a document with a
virtually unlimited range of bright,
clear colors. You print out desk¬
top presentations. Transparencies.
Color layouts or comps. PC/CAD
design. Or just about anything
your heart desires.

To see a Phaser CP, or to find
the best remedy for paper cuts
once you get one call for more
information, 1-800-835-6100
Dept. 4J, or fax to (503) 682-3408.

Tektronix

The best and the brightest.

The printer for those who
rade like to play with ’

ning I

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Miscetf-

aneous t ) ( V.

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Equipment

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Pilot

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Tektronix Phaser CP. Working on a weekday and directly with a PC, itll be even easier for you.

Circle 243 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS: 244)

MEGAHERTZ MADNESS

The PC Link did not excel on the BYTE benchmarks, but it
performed credibly for an inexpensive, no-frills system. Many
of the systems reviewed here boost their performance with ex™
pensive disk controllers and on-board caches* The PC Link, on
the other hand, offers only a disk-cache utility on the bundled
disk. A software cache is not as efficient as a hardware one, and
it also consumes valuable RAM. The decision to forego an on¬
board cache may stunt the benchmark results, but such choices
also keep a rein on the system’s price. PC Link has done a good
job balancing the price/performance equation. Nothing spec¬
tacular, perhaps, but a solid machine at a reasonable price.

—Stanford Diehl

SI A 386/33

After the BYTE Lab tested Systems Integration Associates'
386/33, we realized how hard-disk caching can influence sys¬
tem performance. With an optional 4.5 megabytes of disk-
cache memory, the SI A 386/33 achieved the BYTE Lab's rat¬
ing as one of the fastest PCs on the market.

A caching controller from DPT is one key; it allows the SI A
386/33 to read and write to the controller cache while the con¬
troller card simultaneously accesses the disk. Because of the
DPT controller, the SIA 386/33 blasted its nearest 33-MHz
competitor by 18 percent on the cumulative application index.
And the disk caching can be expanded to 12 megabytes.

CAD redraws were, at most, a nuisance for this machine.
Word processing disk-access applications were even less taxing.

To keep main (motherboard) memory from slowing down
the processor, all SIA 33-MHz systems include a 64K-byte, di¬
rect-mapped, 20-ns SRAM cache. SIA claims zero-wail-state
operation and an 81 percent hit rate for the write-through
cache, operated by a discrete logic controller. In a direct-
mapped design, each memory access involves comparing a tag
(which specifies blocks within the cache) with part of the re¬
quested address. The system uses faster 15-ns SRAM to store
the frequently used cache tag. Up to 16 megabytes of main
memory can be cached; accessing any memory installed be¬
yond this limit will slow the system considerably.

The SIA 386/33 ships with 4 megabytes of 70-ns DRAM*
Four bands for DIP memory are available on the motherboard,
along with four SIMM slots. DIP sockets are compatible with
both 256K-byte and 1-megabyte DRAM chips. SIA says that

both SIMM and DIP sockets are compatible with the 4-mega¬
byte versions of each package.

With 1-megabyte parts, you can get up to 8 megabytes on the
motherboard; when 4-megabyte components are released, the
board will take not 32, but 16 megabytes—a system board limit
imposed by the AMI BIOS.

The 10-bay tower is well designed, with cabling connections
up top where they're protected by a slide-off cover. The cover
has handholds for moving the 75-pound behemoth. Loosen two
screws, slide the cover off, and you have easy access to install
drives and cards in the swing-mounted side cover.

You can easily distinguish the 10-bay system from the others
from the loud roar of the two thermostatically controlled cool¬
ing fans that drag f iltered air past the 350-W power supply. The
standard configuration ($6490) has a PS/2-style keyboard, 4
megabytes of RAM, one serial port, and one parallel port. It
does not have any hard disk drives or a caching controller.

The machine I reviewed had a second 1.2-megabyte floppy
disk drive, an 80387 math coprocessor, an extra serial port, a
16-bit VGA card and VGA color monitor, two 16.5-ms, 680-
megabyte hard disk drives with an accompanying DPT caching
controller, a 125-megabyte tape drive, and a DPT mirroring
kit. The total cost for this system is a whopping $26,365.

As configured, this machine is designed for heavy-duty file
server applications for large LANs. The mirroring kit works
with the two hard disk drives, mirroring the information from
one onto another for backup. Besides transparently writing on a
second hard disk drive, the SmartCache mirroring kit automat¬
ical ly patches bad sectors with good data from the mirrored
drive. Like the mirroring, which is handled transparently by
the controller, patching sectors is transparent. —Roger Adams

Tangent 333

My first impression of the Tangent 333 was that you could live
in this box* The huge tower measures almost 2 feet deep, just as
high, and 9 inches wide; there's enough space inside for 10
half-height mass storage devices*

Even though the unit I tested had two f loppy disk drives and a
100-megabyte hard disk drive (all ESDI), and I/O boards that
included a Video Seven Fast Write VGA card, a multiport I/O
card (with two serial, one parallel, and one game port), plus the
controller board for the disk drives, the insides looked empty
and lonely. Like Dyna, Tangent builds its systems to each cus¬
tomer's specifications; it offers no standard models. The price
of the system I used was $6995.

This is a system you won't easily outgrow. The power supply
is a large two-fan cube mounted in the bottom of the case. Regu¬
lated by a temperature sensing circuit, both fans blow air up
and across a Mylex motherboard mounted so that the I/O
boards are installed with their backsides pointing up*

This means that you attach monitor cables, keyboard cables,
and whatnot across the top. But don't worry about spilling cof¬
fee into your RS-232C connector—a special cowling covers the
top of the machine, protecting its insides like a chi mney hat.

The power supply in the model I tested was rated at 250 W
continuous, but if you're certain to be loading your machine
up, Tangent sells models with supplies rated at 360 W.

The motherboard appears to be capable of handling anything
you can throw at it* It accepts either a 33-MHz 80387—which
was in the system I tested—or a Weitek 3167 coprocessor. The
peripheral board slot arrangement is geared to versatility: four
16-bit slots, an 8-bit slot, and two Intel AT/32-bit slots. If your

continued

44 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Why is the world's smartest mouse under $100?

You ’re looking at the only mouse in
the world with on-the-fiy ballistic
drivers, adjustable resolution (50 to
over 15,000 d.p.i.), 35 free mouse
menus, a super-lightweight self¬
cleaning ball, and a 1,000 mile road
test (really).

It’s also the world's most comfortable
mouse, according to PC Magazine.

And it’s yours for $99.

How do we do it, and provide 7-day s-
a-week unlimited support, and a
Satisfaction Guarantee?

Economies of scale: we're the only
major mouse marketer to make
our own mice, and sell them

to millions of PC users around the
world, and many leading computer
companies.

For information: 800-231-7717

In California:

800-552-8885

Circle 165 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS; 166)

”ircle 66 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS: 67)

Sweating Data
Transfers?

Before DBMS/COPY, transferring data was a
real nightmare. With its user friendly menu
system, DBMS/COPY makes moving data
between 65 packages a snap. Now you can
move data among spreadsheets, databases,
SQL DBMSs, time series, graphics and
statististics packages in seconds. Many
packages claim to read spreadsheets, but
only DBMS/COPY with its revolutionary
spreadsheet grabber lets you visually select
the cell range you want to transfer. And
users say they actually enjoy moving ASCII
files with DBMS/COPY:

All this can be yours for $195 (add $5
shipping). Of course, there is a 30 day
money back guarantee. If you don’t believe
this ad, call or write for your free limited
version of DBMS/COPY. Power users, ask
about the PLUS version. Order today and

stop sweating over your data transfers!

Conceptual Software. Inc. (800) STAT-WOW

P.O. Box 56627 (800) 782-8969

Houston, TX 77256 (713) 667-4222

(713) 667-3FAX

DV-512 Programmable resolution up to 512 x 480. Indepen¬
dent field buffers, input and output LUTS, 24 bit RGB dis¬
play, dual RSI70b inputs. Advanced features. $1,199.00

DV-02 256 gray level board. 256 x 240 resolution, 24 bit ana¬
log RGB display, output LUTS, dual inputs, chroma filter
and hardware cursor. $849.00

DV-03 64 gray level board with many DV-02 features $549.00

PC-PI096 8255-based digital 10 card for PC. $175.00

Control Vision

*<>♦

P.O. Box 596, Pittsburg, KS 66762.800-292-1160,(316)231-6647

GRAB IT!

DIGIVISION

framegrabbers are high-
quality, versatile, affordable
real-time digitizer cards. The basis of many
of today’s OEM products, our boards excel in
robotics, inspection, security and medical imaging.

MEGAHERTZ MADNESS

8-bit boards are fast enough, they’ll run fine in the 16-bit slots;
conversely, a 16-bit card works in the AT/32-bit slots.

A proprietary slot holds the main memory board. The only
memory on the motherboard is 128K bytes of 25-ns SRAM.
The machine I tested housed 4 megabytes of conventional
DRAM, but Tangent said that the Mylex memory board could
handle 4-megabit SIMMs (expected in the next six months),
which would be able to take the machine up to 32 megabytes.

Memory is arranged on the board in interleaved fashion;
there are two banks, and the system refreshes one bank while
the CPU accesses the other. My machine had only one bank
populated, so the system was unable to perform this clever re¬
fresh interleaving. Consequently, Tangent claims, the system
suffers a 2 percent to 3 percent performance degradation.

The entire front of the machine is a door that swings open to
expose the power switches and hard disk drive. (Floppy disk
drives are accessible through a cutout, even when the door is
closed.) You can lock this door, and when you do, no one can
get at the screws that loosen the side panel for access to the in¬
ternals. Neither are the top cowling screws accessible; it’s diffi¬
cult for someone to tamper with the I/O port cables.

The Tangent system turned in mediocre performance on our
benchmarks, but this doesn’t dampen my enthusiasm for it.
The Tangent should make an ideal network server or Unix ma¬
chine. With plenty of room for expansion, an eye toward
tamper-resistance, and a well-designed power system, this is
hardware you won’t have to worry about. —Rick Grehan

Zenith Z-386/33

Several features of the Z-386/33 make it stand out. All the data
lines to the serial and parallel ports have RF filters to minimize
radio frequency interference; the system has FCC Class B ap¬
proval. A built-in Monitor program allows you to diagnose, set
up the computer, and do programming. A lithium “Smart Bat¬
tery” circuit displays an error message telling you to replace the
battery before you lose the setup information in CMOS RAM.
Finally, the Zenith documentation is excellent. It is well writ¬
ten, well organized, and liberally illustrated.

The Zenith Z-386/33 came configured with one 1.44-mega¬
byte 3 -inch floppy disk drive, a 155-megabyte MiniScribe

continued

46 Fall 1989 • BYTE

Circle 71 on Reader Service Card

well take your stats
and make you the
most valuable player
in your league.

MAGAZINE

EDITORS

CHOICE

Analyst

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Mings by

Cognition

March 14,1989

Data analysis software
from SPSS gives your PC
a winning advantage.

It doesn’t matter which field you play
hardball in. With the right combination of
equipment and ability, you can be a hero.

You get that ability with SPSS.

Whether your equipment runs on
MS-DOS™ or PC-DOSr OS/2™ or a
Macintosh™ So you turn raw data into
useful facts. And yourself into a smarter
decision maker.

With SPSS and its options, you can
interface directly with data from your
database, spreadsheet or other

application software. Then manipulate it
in countless ways. From data entry to
advanced statistics, forecasting,
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Voted #1 by the fans.

When the readers of PC Week chose
the top statistical software for “user
satisfaction" (12/5/88), their choice was
SPSS. And no wonder.

SPSS is designed not only for your
computer's operating system, but also
for its operator. With menu and help
systems, plus an on-line statistical
glossary. So you're always in control. For
market research, sales analysis, quality
control and more.

And you can always count on the
training, support, and ongoing
upgrades of SPSS. The team that's
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Find out how SPSS can make you first
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SPSS is a registered trademark of SPSS Inc. PC DOS and OS/2 are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation MS-DOS is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation
Macintosh is a registered trademark of Apple Computer. Inc Not ail options are available on all operating systems.

Circle 241 on Reader Service Card

MEGAHERTZ MADNESS

Fantastic Flexibility I

V * i ■ i . I r 1

■ifn Hll ™ 130

ir<! f i I ■:■!'. ; . ..— [' ^

ranges from amortization H

iiid : I h- ;i ' ■ I >-;ir ll^|^nc 2DD30^

- ■ I C3 £23 £H I

O'l iifT-J H Off ® 22 GE I

I KkT^m = 3=3 £

' r lnk'3 I\1 piG ■ WBHBmmgk WUMSttgU/i

: ‘ : I. ' §

: ' •■' ■ fl Sf^kp

tor review, tiling, editing,

or priming using ttie versatile tape window Use me 'Memorize’' macro
feature to easily repeat calculations or create your own I unctions. Soil
keys provide easy access Id the functions you use most often, select
one ot the thirteen predefined key layouts, or create your ownl All
operations can he performed with the keyboard or a mouse.

PC Pe rf 0 tm a n C e. Buil l in routi nes solve, integrate, and pi ot functions ( usi ng polar or
rectangular coordinates). The extensive manual coniaigs lute rial, advanced use. and relerance'
sections. Or ignore the manual, context sensitive help Is only a keystroke away. Create complex
programs quickly wrth the handy macro editor and debugging windows. The versatile macro
system provides complete control: you can even create pop-up windows and menus!

Anderson

ware

P.G. Box 40. 07*3 Cascade Drive. North Bo nnavrlle. WA 98639

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From Five
to Three
in

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flat

2 J MS version also available

Mcgamale includes everything you
need to add lomonuw’s disk drive
to today’s computers. Installation ls
a snap, just plug in ihe card, plug
in die drive, and rim the setup soft¬
ware {4 keystrokes and you’re
done). Megamute is easy to use.
just tike a 5 inch drive, ft works. with
PCs. XTfc, and Aik, and you can add
ii to any computer because it’s ex¬
ternal-

Megumule gives yimr
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ity with IBM com¬
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diskettes, both the
720KB laptop diskettes,
and the 1,4MB PS/2
diskettes. It automati¬
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type of diskette: is be¬
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Computer Products

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DeKalb, IL 60115
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* BYTE

3180E ESDI hard disk drive, 3 megabytes of 80-/ iQO-ns system
RAM, I6K bytes of 15-ns SRAM for the cache, and a 2QCFW
power supply. It also came paired with the Zenith ZCM-1490
Flat Technology 14-inch analog color monitor. The system
comes with MS-DOS 3.3 Plus and Windows/386. The total
price of this system is $13,197,

The Z-386/33 has seven expansion slots on the motherboard.
Three are for standard, 16-bit, AT-compatible cards. The other
four are Zenith's proprietary 32-bit SuperSet slots that are com¬
patible with 16-bit cards and with Zenith's 32-bit memory-ex¬
pansion and I/O cards.

The computer is unusual because the motherboard holds the
system RAM, CPU, FPU (80387 or Weitek 3167), cache
RAM, and expansion slots. The Zenith BIOS and Monitor pro¬
gram ROMs, real-time dock circuit and battery, serial and par¬
allel ports, and additional support circuits are on the I/O card
that plugs into one of the 32-bit expansion slots.

Eight slots are available for the system memory. Either 1- or
4-megabyte SIMMs can be installed for a maximum of 8 or 32
megabytes of RAM on the motherboard. Optional Zenith ZA-
36G0-MQ memory-expansion cards can be plugged into the 32-
bit slots to increase system RAM to a total of 64 megabytes.
The 16K bytes of RAM for the cache is located on a separate
card that plugs into its own slot on the motherboard. Zenith an¬
ticipates offering a 256K-byte cache card in the future.

There is space for four half-height devices in the front panel.
The floppy and hard disk drives are mounted in cradles. Re¬
move one screw, and the cradle that holds two drives can be
easily moved back and lifted out of the chassis.

The floppy and hard disk drives are controlled by a Data
Technology ESDI hard/floppy disk drive controller card. Ze¬
nith gives it a data transfer rating of 10 megabits per second
with a I -to-1 disk interleave.

The hard disk drive versions of the Z-386/33 come with a Z-
549 VGA card made by Sigma Designs, On boot-up, the video
BIOS ROM is copied to 32-bit RAM to improve performance.
The card provided a crisp display on the Zenith monitor.

The Zenith Z-386/33 is not at the top of the list when it comes
to performance—perhaps because it is keeping such exotic
company in this review. Where the Zenith does shine is in the
overall quality of its design and construction.— Stan Wszpla ■

48 Fall 1989

Circle 179 on Reader Service Card

Quality

Service

This is where it all
comes together

i Quality

Service

GATEWAY 2000 • P. O. BOX 2000
SERGEANT BLUFF, IOWA 51054

800-523-2000 • 712-943-2000
FAX 712-943-2023

Gateway 2000’s quality standards set us apart from our
competition. From the top quality name brand components used
in our systems to the painstaking quality assurance tests we
run on our machines, you are guaranteed a top quality computer.
Our complete line of computer systems are hand built in our
factory located just outside Sioux City, Iowa. State of the art
( technology is used to provide you with a combination of perform¬
ance, compatibility, and reliability that few vendors can match.
One customer recently wrote: "The quality of your work is
exemplary and frankly has made a lot of others jealous because
they bought systems which were comparable in quality but with
a stiff price difference '— George Syty.

Gateway 2000’s service policies are the best in the industry.

We stand behind all of our systems with a 30 Day Money Back
Guarantee and a I Year Warranty, We also offer Lifetime
Toll-Free Technical Support, and Free Federal Express Ship¬
ping of replacement parts. If our technicians can’t solve your
problems over the phone or Fed-X you a solution we can dispatch a
technician to most locations to provide Free On Site Service.
Our policies are great, but it’s our people that really set us apart
from the competition. Look at what our customers write:

"Thank you very much for kind attention and help. / am
highly recommending your corporation to colleagues for your
quality and service"— Herbert Markley.

"I've always heard your forte is customer service, and now you
have definitely proven it to me”—Jose De Jesus.

7 am really glad } chose Gateway 2000”— Jerry Langland.

7 feel compelled to express my gratitude to your company for the
impeccable service and support l received”— Andrei Weiszmann.

It is a pleasure indeed, to work with a computer sales
company that exhibits a genuine desire to satisfy the customer”—
Ron L. Kinney.

Distinction

This is where it all comes together. Price

We founded Gateway 2000 on this farm located near Sioux Gateway 2000 offers the most aggressive prices in the industry.
City, Iowa to provide top quality computers at unbeatable prices We offer fully loaded machines for the same price as most
with uncompromising service after the sale. No other company vendor’s stripped down models. One customer wrote “I’m surprised

offers you the combination of Price, Quality, and Service that that the computer media haven't mentioned anything about your

we do. We want you to be completely satisfied with your decision to prices relative to the rest. You don’t merely edge them out you

purchase a Gateway 2000 computer system, and you have our blow them atra/'—Clarence Larson. Look at our prices on the

personal pledge that you will be. We look forward to you joining back page of this ad, shop around, compare apples to apples,

our thousands of satisfied customers, and establishing a long then call Gateway 2000’s knowledgeable sales staff to discover the

lasting business relationship. GATEWAY DIFFERENCE. 7 chose Gateway after much

e- , , research because 1 felt that the product was the best value for the

1 r money and the sales staff was very patient with my never ending

list of questions and and inquiries”— Keith Lazan.

TedWaitt Norm Waiti Jr.

President Vice President

—

1 Meg RAM

1.2 Meg 5VC Drive

1.44 Meg 3.5" Drive
80 Meg 28ms Drive
16 Bit VGA Board
14" Multisynch Monitor
1 Parallel & 2 Serial Ports
101 Key Keyboard
MS DOS 33 or 4.01

$ 2995.00

Upgrade to 4 Megs $400
64K Cache Add $250

2 Megs RAM

1.2 Meg 5VC Drive

1.44 Meg 3.5" Drive
40 Meg 28ms Drive
16 Bit VGA Board
14" Multisynch Monitor
1 Parallel & 2 Serial Ports
101 Key Keyboard
MS DOS 3.3 or 4.01

$ 2395.00

80286-12 Processor
2 Megs RAM

1.2 Meg 5‘/C Drive

1.44 Meg 3.5" Drive
40 Meg 28ms Drive
16 Bit VGA Board
14" Multisynch Monitor
1 Parallel & 2 Serial Ports
101 Key Keyboard
MS DOS 3.3 or 4.01

$ 2195.00

4 Megs RAM

1.2 Meg 5VC Drive

1.44 Meg 3.5" Drive
150 Meg 16.5ms ESDI Drive
16 Bit VGA Board
14" Multisynch Monitor
1 Parallel & 2 Serial Ports
101 Kev Keyboard
MS DOS 3.3 or 4.01

$ 3995.00

64 K Cache A dd
$500

GATEWAY 2000 * P.O. BOX 2000
SERGEANT BLUFF, IOWA 51054

800-5 23-2000 * 712-043-2000
FAX 7 1 2-043-2023

Due to ike voiatilUj in the DRAM market, ail prices are subject to change.

64K Cache RAM
4 Megs RAM

1.2 Meg 5 r Drive

1.44 Meg 3.5" Drive
150 Meg 16.5 ms ESDI Drive
16 Bit VGA Board
14" Multisynch Monitor
I Parallel & 2 Serial Ports
101 Kev Keyboard
MS DOS 3.3 or 4.01

$ 5495.00

Gas Plasma Display Screen
2.6 Megs RAM

1.44 Meg 3.5" Floppy Drive
External Port for 5VC Drive
40 Meg 28ms Hard Drive
I Parallel & ! Serial Port
Expansion Slot (16 Bit)
External EGA Monitor Port
84 Key Keyboard
MS DOS 3.3 Installed

$ 2995.00

80286-16 Processor
2 Megs RAM

1.2 Meg W Drive

1.44 Meg 3.5" Drive
40 Meg 28ms Drive
16 Bit VGA Board
14" Multisynch Monitor
1 Parallel & 2 Serial Ports
101 Kev Keyboard
MS DOS 3.3 or 4.01

$ 2295.00

I mm

28 $ VGA

80286-20 Processor
2 Megs RAM

1.2 Meg 5VC Drive

1.44 Meg 3.5" Drive
40 Meg 28ms Drive
16 Bit VGA Board
14" Multisynch Monitor
1 Parallel & 2 Serial Ports
101 Kev Keyboard
MS DOS 3.3 or 4.01

$ 2395.00

Circle US on Reader Sen iee Card

IBM SPECIAL ISSUE

Benchmarks at a Glance:

1989

BYTE's performance rankings
of popular IBM PC compatibles and Macs

Compiled by Stanford Diehl

ver since the new BYTE benchmarks debuted
in June 1988, a diverse field of microcomputer
systems has vied for the title of “fastest per¬
sonal computerThe BYTE Lab has busily
tested the gamut of systems from 33-MHz net¬
work servers to the new notebook-size laptops. The boxes keep
shrinking while the power within keeps growing, and new
speed champions appear almost daily. Still, some systems de¬
serve special notice.

While the crop of 33-MHz machines now dominates the top
of our list, the ALR FlexCache 25386 clung to the top spot for
over six months. At one time, a slick memory-caching scheme
was enough to lead the pack. But now, with most observers
agreeing that 80386 speeds have topped out, vendors are using
more extreme measures to keep ahead, using extensive caching
and top-of-the-line components in their speed demons.

As the BYTE benchmarks have evolved, so have the available
computer systems. The Compaq Deskpro 386/16, still a power¬
ful desktop model, has dropped to the bottom tier. The porta¬
bles are now formidable foes, seriously competing with full-
fledged systems. The Toshiba T5200 is one of the top 20-MHz
performers, and the IBM PS/2 Model P70 edged out the PS/2
Model 70-12 L The day of the desktop portable has arrived.

The 80386SX machines are also gaining stature. They, too,
achieve a respectable showing on our list, comparing favorably
with the 80386/16 machines. If the SX prices drop a little fur¬
ther, the chip may become significant after all.

As always, the BYTE benchmarks offer a glimpse of low-
level component performance as well as application-specific
performance. You can easily evaluate each system’s overall
standing, or you can analyze a system’s performance by one of
four component modules or one of five separate applications.
The listing also tells you when each machine was reviewed or
otherwise mentioned in the pages of BYTE if you’d like a more
detailed picture of a system.

The BYTE benchmark indexes are relative. The IBM

continued

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Fall 1989

BYTE BENCHMARK INDEXES—WITH MATH COPROCESSOR

Low-level Applications

Computer

Month

appeared

CPU

FPU

Disk

Video

Scl J
Eng.

Cmplr.

Cum.

appl.

indx.

SIA 386/33

IBM Spot. 89

6.27

14.97

8.99

3.27

5.49

4.32

8,09

7.42

7,32

32,64

Micro Express ME 386/33

IBM Spcl. 89

5,66

15.06

7.02

2,97

4,76

4.32

5.83

7.12

5.55

27.58

National Micro Systems 386/33

IBM Spcl. 89

6.06

15.07

6.48

2 01

5.08

4.35

5.77

6.00

5.37

26.58

FiveStar Model 33/D (366/33)

IBM Spcl. 89

5.74

15.75

7.14

2.22

4.82

4.31

5.91

5.90

5.53

26.47

Compaq Deskpro 386/33

IBM Spcl. 69

6.09

15.50

2.90

4.53

4.28

5.01

3,00

7.86

4,46

24,61

Dyna Cache 386/33

IBM Spcl. 89

5.67

14.86

2.56

3,85

5,02

4,27

2,91

7.51

4.42

24.13

ALR FlexCache 33/386

IBM Spcl. 69

6.74

15.66

2,60

2.83

4.61

4.50

2.88

7,18

4.86

24,02

Blackship 386/33

IBM Spcl, 89

6.03

13.71

2.37

3.61

4.69

4.45

2.89

7.30

4,44

23.77

AST Premium 386/33

IBM Spcl. 89

4.80

14.21

2.32

3.89

4.11

4,22

3.01

7,23

4.11

22.69

Everex Step 386/33

IBM Spcl. 89

6,84

15 48

2.45

4.26

4.43

3.93

1.96

8.05

4.25

22.62

PC Link 386/33

IBM Spcl. 89

5.10

14.87

2.83

2,11

5.03

4.43

2,68

5.51

4.36

22.01

ALR FlexCache 25386

Nov, 88

5.07

10,55

2,74

2.57

4.41

4.13

2.83

5.80

4,08

21.24

Tangent 333

IBM Spcl. 89

5 73

14.83

2,28

1,79

4.57

4.45

2.45

5.43

4.27

21.17

SIA 386/32

Apr. 89

5,99

14,20

2.36

3.06

4.41

4.07

2.02

6.24

3.94

20.67

Zenith Z-386/33

IBM Spcl 89

4,79

15.10

2.96

5,05

3.91

3,97

1.87

6.59

3.85

20,19

Matrix MDP 386/33

IBM Spcl. 89

5.75

15.07

1.93

5.73

3.95

3,90

1.74

7.09

3.43

20.11

AST Premium 386/25*

3.78

9.92

2,49

2,34

3.62

3.93

2.60

536

3.68

19.20

□ell System 310 (386/20)

Oct. 88

3.91

8.38

3.21

2.45

3.45

3.56

2,84

4.98

3.41

18.24

Proteus 386/25MX*

4 26

9,97

2,37

1.72

3.69

3.88

2.40

4.33

3.66

17,95

ALR FlexCache 20386

Jun. 88

3.92

7.93

2.50

2.01

3.44

3.51

2.88

4.66

3.44

17.94

Compaq Deskpro 386/20

Feb. 88

3.61

8.34

2.23

2.54

3.20

3.51

3.09

4.67

3.45

17.93

Toshiba T5200/100 (386/20)

Aug 89

3.96

8.27

2.22

2,16

3,34

3,66

2.57

4.89

3.40

17.86

ALR MicroFlex 7000 (386/25)

Sep. 89

4.99

10.29

2.41

2.97

3.54

3.82

1,50

5.45

3.30

17.61

Compaq 386/206*

3,62

8,19

1.89

3.03

3.26

3.64

2.62

4.68

3.07

17.26

IBM PS/2 Model 70-A21 (386/25)

Jul. 89

4.71

10,23

1.64

2.96

3,42

3,75

1.52

5.33

2,62

16.64

Dolch-P.A.C. 386-25

Aug. 89

3,84

8.77

2,12

2.64

3.16

3.14

2,37

4.67

3.11

16.45

AST Premium/386C (386/20)*

3.26

7.42

2.31

2.28

3.12

2.60

2.61

4.50

3.31

16.14

Micro Express Regal II (386/20)

Aug. 89

3.30

8,08

2.51

2.50

2.93

3,18

2.22

4.29

3.14

15,76

AST Premium/386 (386/20)

Sep. 88

2.51

5.26

2.41

1.90

2.80

2.90

2.42

3,96

2.74

14 85

FiveStar Model 320 (386/20)

Jun. 89

3.31

7.99

1.66

2,11

3,07

3,21

1.49

4.31

2,59

14,67

Tandy 5000 MC (386/20)

Feb. 89

3.71

7,91

1,25

2.26

2.97

3,23

1.50

4.35

2.23

14.27

Tandon 386/20

Jun. 89

3.30

8.02

1.49

1.71

2.91

3.19

1.52

3.97

2,41

14.01

Everex Step 386/20

Aug. 88

4.11

8.14

1.41

1.59

2.94

3.37

1.55

3.67

2,46

13.98

Dolch P.A.C. 386-20C (386/20)

Jan. 89

3.30

5,35

1,41

2.23

2.96

2,78

1.66

3,79

2.37

13.58

Compaq Portable 386 (386/20)

Aug. 89

2.82

7,34

1,60

2.46

2.68

3.11

1,49

3.73

2.32

13.33

IBM PS/2 Model 80-111 (386/20)

Nov 87

2.68

6.97

1.53

2.31

2.81

3.07

1.45

3,63

2.21

13.16

Sun386i (386/25)

Dec. 88

3.61

6,02

5.87

0,70

3.24

2.66

2.36

1.94

2.96

13.16

IBM PS/2 Model P70 386 (386/20)

Aug. 89

2.66

6.98

1.62

2.16

2,99

2,88

1,35

3,58

2,22

13,02

IBM PS/2 Model 70-121 (386/20)

Jan. 89

266

6.84

1.74

2.34

2.63

2.74

1 46

3.75

2.15

12.72

Wells American CompuStar (286/20)

Apr, 89

2.74

2,04

2.01

2.30

2,62

3.11

1.65

3,06

2.06

12,49

NEC ProSpeed 386 (386/16)

Aug. 89

2.41

6.00

2.15

1.59

2.34

2.33

2.14

3.11

2.37

12.29

Compaq 386s (386SX/16)

Nov, 88

1,86

5.03

1,78

1,87

2.24

2.15

2,06

3,01

2.05

1151

ADC Powerlite 386 (386SX/16)*

1,32

4,88

2.64

1,37

2.38

2.25

2.48

2.24

2 13

11.47

Dell System 220 (286/20)

Dec. 88

2.72

1.73

1.40

2.02

2.71

2.68

1.39

2.55

2.11

11.44

Toshiba T5100 (386/16)

Aug. 89

2.38

5.90

1,34

1,32

2,25

2.48

1.69

2 64

1.97

1104

Zenith TurbosPort 386 (386/12)

Aug, 89

1.96

2.36

1,48

1.91

1,93

2.22

2.00

2,73

197

10,84

Tatung TCS-8000 (386/20)

Aug 88

3.04

1.74

1.18

0.94

2,41

2.98

1.13

2.09

1.92

10.53

IBM PS/2 Model 70-E61 (386/16)

Jan. 89

2.11

5.50

1,55

1.93

2.28

2.18

1.35

2,94

1.78

10.52

Compaq Deskpro 386/16

Feb. 87

2.20

1.52

1.45

1.49

2.26

2.40

1.52

2,25

1,96

10.36

Twinhead 386SX (386SX/16)

Mar. 89

1.93

4.91

1.45

1.17

2.29

2.00

1,62

2,57

1.76

10,23

Mitac 2386 (386/16)

Oct. 89

2.04

4.41

1.38

1.57

2.08

1 82

1.36

2,76

1 67

9.70

GRiDCase 1530(386/12.5)

Aug. 89

1,76

2,69

1,55

1.24

1.78

2.01

1.81

2.17

1.82

9.58

IBM PS/2 Model 55 SX(386SX/16)

Oct. 89

1.78

4,02

1.36

2.42

2.07

1,97

1.21

2.61

1.67

9,53

GRiDCase 1535 EXP (386/12.5)

Aug, 89

1.76

2.68

1,55

1.20

1.69

2.04

1,78

2,13

1.80

9,44

Amdek System/286A (286/12.5)

Jul. 88

2.19

1.56

4.16

1.01

2,02

2.21

1.53

1.72

1.70

9.17

Dell System 200(286/12.5)

Jul. 83

1.60

1.72

4.05

1.09

1.83

2.01

1.31

1.74

1.46

8,34

IBM PS/2 Model 50 Z (286/10)

Jan. 89

1.65

1.80

1,24

1,42

1.76

1.72

1.17

2,00

1.47

8,12

Arche Rival 286 (286/12)

Jul. 88

1.51

1.50

2.50

1.49

1.75

1.43

0,96

1.84

114

7.12

AST Bravo/286 (286/8)

Sep. 89

1.48

1.03

1,12

1,18

1.57

1.30

1,22

1.53

127

6.89

NEC PowerMate Portable (386SX/16)

Aug. 89

1.96

3.76

1.23

1.27

1.25

1.23

1.65

1.50

1,13

6.77

Leading Edge Model D2 (286/10)

Jul. 88

1.27

1,25

3.86

0.79

1.63

1.24

1.32

1.28

121

6.68

Epson Equity 11+ (286/12)

Jul. 88

1.28

1.21

3,43

0.92

1.54

1.47

1,07

1.22

1.24

6,54

IBM PC AT (286/8)**

1 00

1.00

1,00

1.00

5.00

IBM PC XT (8086/4.7)**

0.22

0.71

0.32

0.25

0.33

0.28

0.22

0.35

0.29

147

'System has. been benchmarked bm not yet covered m BYTE.
"Listed for reference only.

SO Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

BYTE BENCHMARK INDEXES—WITH MATH COPROCESSOR

Low level

Application level

ii ii

SIA 386/33

■ i i i ~i~ i

i i i ,_i_

Micro Express ME 386/33

ti i ii

i i ii

National Micro Systems 386/33

i i i i i

L. 1 1 f

FiveStar Model 33/D (386/33)

,.j i i l j

II II

Compaq Deskpro 386/33

Mil II

II II

Dyna Cache 386/33

... I II .1_ 1

II II

ALR FlexCache 33/386

III 11

II II

Blackship 386/33

III ll

II II

AST Premium 386/33

III II

Hr 1 II

Eve rex Step 386/33

III II

II ll

PC Link 386/33

III II

r i 'ii

ALR FlexCache 25386

. .! II II

ii ii

Tangent 333

III I I

ii ii

SIA 386/32

III 1 I

i i j i

Zenith Z-386/33

III II

l 1 M

Matrix MDP 386/33

1 1 E 1 i

II II

AST Premium 386/25

.in ii

II II

Dell System 310 (386/20)

. j m i j

II II

Proteus 386/25MX

. .1, .1 I LJ

II II

ALR FlexCache 20386

l l l l l

II II

Compaq Deskpro 386/20

iii in

K 1 1 1

Toshiba T5200/100 (386/20)

111 II

L 1 1 1

ALR MicroFlex 7000 (386/25)

in ii

l i rr

Compaq 386/20e

..iii i i

ii ii

IBM PS/2 Model 70-A21 (386/25)

in ii

ii ii

Dolch-P.A.C 386-25

in ii

L 1 1 1

AST Premium/386C (386/20)

i i i i i

Li _ !_L_

Micro Express Regal II (386/20)

iii ■ 11

ll ll

AST Premium/386 (386/20)

mi ii

II II

FiveStar Model 320 (386/20)

i ii i i

II II

Tandy 5000 MC (366/20)

. i ii i i

ll ll

Tandon 386/20

l Mil

1,1 II

Everex Step 386/20

1 1 1 1 1

Li . II

Dolch P.A.C. 386-20C (386/20)

i n n

Li.Ll.

Compaq Portable 386 (386/20)

i i ii i

1 1 II

IBM PS/2 Model 80-111 (386/20)

iii ii

II IT

Sun386i (386/25)

m i u i

II II

IBM PS/2 Model P70 386 (386/20)

.J III!

II II

IBM PS/2 Model 70-121 (386/20)

Ill II

1 1 LL

Wells American CompuStar (286/20)

1 1 I 1 |

II II

NEC ProSpeed 386 (386/16)

i i n i

N 1 1

Compaq 386s (386SX/16)

iii ii

II II

ADC Powerlite 386 (386SX/16)

i i i i i

Mil

Dell System 220 (286/20)

i n ii

L 1 II

Toshiba T5100 (386/16)

in n

II II

Zenith TurbosPort 386 (386/12)

i i i n

1 111

Tatung TCS-8000 (386/20)

1 ILIl

II II

IBM PS/2 Model 70-E61 (386/16)

.III II

U 1 1

Compaq Deskpro 386/16

Mill

1 f IT

Twinhead 386SX (386SX/16)

J 1 1 1 J

HI II

Mitac 2386 (386/16)

III II

Ll 1.1

GRiDCase 1530 (386/12.5)

1 1 1 1 1

HI II

IBM PS/2 Model 55 SX (386SX/16)

Mil

GRiDCase 1535 EXP (386/12,5)

1 1 1 1 1

til 1

Amdek System/286A (286/12.5)

II 1 II

in i

Dell System 200 (286/12.5)

III 1 1

11 ii

IBM PS/2 Model 50 Z (286/10)

1 III 1

lill

Arche Rival 286 (286/12)

Mill |—. ... .

nrr

AST Bravo/286 (286/8)

m Word processing

□ cpu n it

NEC PowerMate Portable (386SX/16)

1 1 Spreadsheet

i i FPU LU_ 1

Leading Edge Model D2 (266/10)

1 1 1 1 j 1 3 Database

LJ Disk 1 ^ Ll

Epson Equity 11+ (286/12)

JJ.U 1 □ Scientific/Engineering

□ Video |

IBM PC AT (286/8)

IBM PC XT (8086/4.7)

□ Compiler

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Fall 1989 SI

BENCHMARKS AT A GLANCE

BYTE BENCHMARK INDEXES—WITHOUT MATH COPROCESSOR

Computer

Month

appeared

Low-level

Applications

Cum.

appl.

indx.

CPU

Disk

Video

Sci./

Eng.

Cmplr.

Micro Express ME 386 (386/20)

Oct. 88

3.30

1.47

2.58

3.46

2.73

1.73

1.31

2.32

11.54

Gateway 386 (386/20)

Oct. 88

2.77

1.55

2.80

3.16

2.25

2.39

1.14

2.27

11.21

Fortran 386(386/20)

Oct. 88

2.77

1.33

2.84

3.15

2.78

1.54

1.12

2.15

10.74

Zeos 386 Tower (386/16)

Oct. 88

2.61

1.97

2.25

3.08

2.67

1.54

1.05

2.30

10.64

DataWorld 386(386/16)

Oct. 88

2.20

1.52

1.64

2.76

2.34

2.15

0.90

2.14

10.29

Spear Mono-386A (386/16)

Oct. 88

2.61

1.38

2.28

3.01

2.66

1.45

1.05

1.92

10.09

Northgate 386/16

Nov. 88

2.61

1.38

2.27

2.86

2.75

1.34

1.06

2.04

10.05

Micro 1 Power 386/20

Oct. 88

2.54

1.44

1.86

2.90

2.39

1.69

0.98

2.07

10.03

Club 386 (386/16)

Oct. 88

2.62

1.39

2.28

2.91

2.17

1.56

1.05

2.06

9.76

Whole Earth 386 (386/16)

Oct . 88

2.75

1.30

2.25

2.92

2.16

1.50

1.05

2.05

9.68

VIPC Micro 386 (386/20)

Oct. 88

2.91

1.33

1.90

2.71

2.46

1.54

1.07

1.90

9.68

CompuAdd Standard-386 (386/16)

Oct. 88

2.20

1.43

1.66

2,64

2.34

1.50

0.88

1.91

9.27

Pacesetter 386 (386/20)

Oct. 88

2.36

1.43

2.06

2.60

2.15

1.48

0.97

1.88

9.08

Suntronics-386 (386/16)

Oct. 88

2.20

1.23

2.33

2.62

2.15

1.44

0.90

1.83

8.93

Blackship 386 (386/16)

Oct. 88

2.43

1.33

1.48

2.74

2.01

1.43

0.89

1.81

8.88

Bus 386 (386/16)

Oct. 88

2.20

1.04

1.63

2.57

2.14

1.51

0.89

1.70

8.81

GCH EasyData 386 (386/16)

Oct. 88

2.42

1.34

1.84

2.45

2.00

1.50

0.90

1.90

8.75

Value 386 (386/16)

Oct . 88

2.20

1.22

1.65

2.66

2.00

1.32

0.87

1.84

8.69

PC Network THE 386 (386/16)

Oct. 88

2.20

0.93

1.63

2.54

1.97

1.43

0.91

1.83

8.67

Uniq 386 (386/16)

Oct. 88

1.87

1.26

1.50

2.47

1.91

1.45

0.82

1.78

8.44

Compaq SLT/286 (286/12)

Mar. 89

1.59

1.77

1.43

1.77

1.67

1.95

0.61

1.69

7.70

Hertz 386 (386/16)

Oct. 88

2.03

1.32

1.57

2.09

1.61

1.32

0.82

1.79

7.59

NCR PC916sx (386SX/16)

Mar. 89

1.87

1.34

1.11

2.11

1.70

1.28

0.72

1.71

7.52

Ogivar 286 Laptop (286/12.5)

Mar. 89

1.70

1.19

1.38

1.75

1.63

1.34

0.62

1.45

6.79

Zenith SupersPort 286 (286/12)

Feb. 89

1.55

1.06

1.38

1.59

1.53

1.28

0.64

1.40

6.43

Mitsubishi MP-286L (286/12)

Feb. 89

1.62

0.92

1.29

1.45

1,41

1.05

0.59

1.13

5.64

Epson Equity LT (NEC V30/10)

Oct. 88

0.93

0.61

0.82

1.01

0.86

0.92

0.34

0.81

3.94

HP Vectra CS Model 20 (V30/7.16)

Jun. 88

0.64

0.26

0.62

0.77

0.84

0.68

0.25

0.65

3.19

NEC MultiSpeed HD (V30/9.54)

Jun. 88

0.68

0.47

0.59

0.74

0.89

0.41

0.27

0.64

2.96

NEC UltraLite (V30/9.83)

Aug. 89

0.93

1.42

0.80

N/A

0.90

N/A

0.35

0.99

N/A

BYTE BENCHMARK INDEXES—MACINTOSH FAMILY

Low-level Applications

- - Cum.

Computer

CPU

FPU*

Disk

Video

Sci./

Eng.

Cmplr.

appl.

indx.

Macintosh Ilex

4.61

1.15

3.65

2.58

2.72

3.25

3.07

6.13

2.79

17.97

Macintosh SE/30

4.61

1.16

3.01

2.33

2.68

3.53

2.99

5.23

2.60

17.04

Macintosh IIx

4.57

1.16

3.02

2.59

2.60

3.20

3.15

5.32

2.53

16.81

Macintosh II

3.81

1.00

2.56

2.35

2.00

2.72

2.53

4.24

2.16

13.66

Macintosh SE

1.00

N/A

1.00

5.00

Macintosh Plus

0.81

N/A

0.75

0.91

0.80

0.88

093

0.91

0.84

4.36

* FPU Index based on Macintosh II All other indexes based on Macintosh SE.

PC-compatible systems are referenced against an 8-MHz IBM
AT with an 80287 coprocessor. The cumulative application in¬
dex represents an overall score based on all application tests.
The baseline AT registers at 1.0 on each application index for a
cumulative index of 5.0. Therefore, a cumulative score of 20
would suggest an operating speed four times that of the stan¬
dard AT. The NEC UltraLite could not run the entire set of
application tests and so does not have a cumulative application
index. The UltraLite’s low-level bar graph is more representa¬

tive of its speed since the application-level bar lacks two seg¬
ments. For all graphs, the low-level bar extends to the left of the
listed system and the application-level bar extends to the right.

Predictably, the 68030 machines (Ilex, SE/30, and IIx) top
the Macintosh list. The 68000 processor inside the SE and the
Plus does not support an integrated math coprocessor, so those
machines could not generate an FPU index. For the same rea¬
son, the Macintosh FPU indexes are referenced against the Mac
II, while all other indexes are based on the Mac SE. The Macin-

52 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

BENCHMARKS AT A GLANCE

BYTE BENCHMARK INDEXES—WITHOUT MATH COPROCESSOR

Low level

Micro Express ME 386(386/20)
Gateway 386 (386/20)
Fortran 386 (386/20)

Zeos 386 Tower (386/16)
DataWorld 386 (386/16)
Spear Mono-386A (386/16)
Northgate 386/16
Micro 1 Power 386/20
Club 386 (386/16)

Whole Earth 386 (386/16)
VIPC Micro 386 (386/20)
CompuAdd Standard-386 (386/16)
Pacesetter 386 (386/20)
Suntronics-386 (386/16)
Blackship 386 (386/16)

Bus 386 (386/16)

GCH EasyData 386 (386/16)
Value 386 (386/16)

PC Network THE 386 (386/16)
Uniq 386 (386/16)

Compaq SLT/286 (286/12)
Hertz 386 (386/16)

NCR PC916sx (386SX/16)
Ogivar 286 Laptop (286/12.5)
Zenith SupersPort 286 (286/12)
Mitsubishi MP-286L (286/12)
Epson Equity LT (NEC V30/10)
HP Vectra CS Model 20 (V30/7.16)
NEC MultiSpeed HD (V30/9.54)
NEC UltraLite (V30/9.83)

Application level

BYTE BENCHMARK INDEXES-MACINTOSH FAMILY

Low level

Application level

i—r

□:

Macintosh Ilex

—i —1 i r~

Macintosh SE/30

iii ii

Macintosh llx

III FT 1

Macintosh II

1 1 1 ' l l

Macintosh SE

1 1 1 □

Macintosh Plus

ri m

I—l CPU □ FPU □ Disk □ Video □ Word processing □ Spreadsheet □ Database

□ Scientific/Engineering □ Compiler

tosh indexes should not be compared to the PC indexes.

Benchmarking can be a tricky business, especially given the
wide range of methods employed to make systems run faster.
For the most part, we run the systems intact, testing them the
same way you would use them—as complete systems. We do
disable software caching because it steals precious RAM, but
hardware caching is fair game. We try to test all machines with
a coprocessor installed. Machines tested without a coprocessor
are listed separately. The Macintosh benchmarks have been re¬

vised since the last update, so the numbers have changed
slightly. The PC benchmarks have not faced a major revision
since the December 1988 listing.

As systems continue to stretch the performance curve and as
the 80486s start to appear, the BYTE Lab will be ready with a
new generation of system benchmarks. Stay tuned. ■

Stanford Diehl is a BYTE testing editor. He can be reached on
BIX as “sdiehl ”

BYTE IBM Special Edition • Fall 1989 53

Introducing the

best built, best backed

286- and 386-based systems.

Since 1983, CSR has been a leading microcomputer maintenance provider.
We repair all major brands - IBM! Compaq 1 and the best-known
peripherals - for the largest dealer networks and third-party service
companies nationw ide. So when we decided to build our own 286- and
386-based systems we knew how ? to make them even better.

With CSR, you can put your confidence in a company that has it all - the
service, support, performance and IBM compatibility you expea - but at
prices that will surprise you.

The industry’s best 2-YEAR warranty.

For the first full year we provide complete on-site service on ail parts and
labor, During the second year well repair or replace any parts that fail.
This revolutionary warranty demonstrates the high degree of confidence
we have in the quality and reliability of our computers.

Plus, when you call our toll-free Technical Support Hotline you'll be
connected to a highly-skilled Customer Engineer (CE), Your CE will
either fix the problem over the phone or dispatch a Service Engineer
to your site - within 24 hours of your call - for prompt, professional
problem resolution.

And what's best about this CSR-exclusive is that everything is included
in the price of your computer!

High performance, not a high price.

CSR delivers high performance in every machine we make. Our 286/20
uses an Intel 1 based 80286 chip that runs at a blazing 20 MHz arid
outperforms most 386-based machines.

And unlike some of our competitors, we don't imbed the VGA or disk
controllers on the mother hoard - that can just lock you out of future
innovations, Instead, we provide a high-speed VGA controller which
supports all VGA modes. And a totally IBM-compatible disk controller
which features the latest in track-buffer technology to boost drive
performance by an amazing 30% to 50%.

Compatible with reality.

You’ve invested a lot in software. That's reality. So we designed our machines
to be 100% compatible with all your MS-DOS® and OS/2® software.

And w ? e know you have software on both 3 1/2" and 5 1/4^ media,
That’s why all CSR computers have both size drives - even the low profile,
small footprint 286/20 SL. It’s a convenience we've added without adding
to the price.

Plus you’ll find our high resolution high contrast VGA monitors and
"clickable” keyboard to be consistent with your definition of how T a
computer should look and feel.

Compatible with your budget.

You may have computing needs that are incompatible with what other
computer companies w r ould like you to spend. Tell vs the details of your
needs. Then tell its your budget. And we’ll build you a system that’s
compatible with both.

So if you want a better built, better backed computer system, compare
warranties. Compare specifications. Then pick up the phone and call
us at 800-566-1277. We'll deliver w r hat you need at prices that will
surprise you.

Full leasing options available. Rates begin as low r as S60/mo,

We accept MasterCard, VISA and certified checks,

tThe brands or product names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective
holders. MS-DOS and OS/2 are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

Made in the USA.

CSR 286/14

GSR 286/14 SL

• 80286 Intel based microprocessor running at
14 MHz

• I MB RAM expandable to 16 MB(8 MB on the
system board). *

• Page mode interleave memory architecture.

• High speed VGA controller

• Dual Diskette/Hard Disk Controller

• 5.25" 1.2 MB or 3.5” 1.44 MB diskette drive.

• Enhanced 101 tactile "click" keyboard with
copy holder and dust cover.

• Socket for Intel 80287 or Weitek math
coprocessor.

• I parallel. I serial port and a Microsoft
compatible bus mouse port.

• 8 Industry standard expansion slots. **

• Power reset switch

• Security keylock.

• AMI bios.

• Real time dock with battery backup

• MS-DOS and MS-OS/2 compatible

Popular Options

1 MB to 16 MB of high speed memory
8028 7 math coprocessor.

Slim line case with one 5.25" and two 3-5"
drive bays accessible

NOTE *l'p U> 6 MB M SL cut ** i fxptmiliwi Ui4» in SI. CM

CSR ’86/i t

Hard (ink Dnvc»

Mwl

ion 1 vdiptr
VGA Mono

\Til Color

20 MB Ml MS
ST'506

11,699

*2.099

<2,599

40 MB +» MS
ST/400

*1,899

<2,299

<2,599

40 MB 22 MS

ST/306

*1.999

<2.399

<2,699

•XI MB 18 MS
ESDI

*2.599

<2,899

<3.299

130 MB IS MS
DW

*3.099

<3,299

*5.699

CSR 286/20 SL

CSR 286/20

• 80286 Intel based microprocessor running at
20MH2.

• 1 MB RAM expandable to 16 MB(8 MB on the
system board).*

• Page mode interleave memory architecture

• High speed VGA controller

• Track buffered high speed dual diskette/hard
disk controller

• 5.25" 12 MB or 3 5" 1.44 MB diskette drive

• Enhanced 101 tactile ‘tllck" keyboard with
copy holder and dust cover

• Socket for Intel 80287 or Weitek math
coprocessor

• I parallel, 1 serial port and a Microsoft
compatible bus mouse port

• 8 industry standard expansion slots.**

• 3 speed selectable 8 MHz, 16 MHz or 20 MHz
speed

• Power reset switch.

• Security keylock.

• AMI bios.

• Real time clock with battery backup.

• MS-DOS and MS-OS/2 compatible

Popular Options

2 MB to 16 MB of high speed memory

20 MHz math coprocessor

Slim line case with one 5.25" and twx> 3.5"

drive bays accessible.

NOTE: *lf to 8 MB ui SL oue ** S aptfincm tiot* in SL cue

CSR 286620
Hard Disk Onus

Mormon
Via Mow.

’ Adipur,

VGA Color

3 5" 1 4r MB
Dukctie Dnvr

<1.999

<2,299

40 MB 11 MS
ST/306

<2.599

<2.799

68 MB 12 MS

<2,799

<2,999

90 MB 18 MS
ISW

<3.499

<3.799

CSR 386/20

• Intel 80386 Microprocessor running at
20 MHz

• 1 MB RAM expandable to 16 MB on the
system board.

• Page mode interleave memory architecture.

• Socket for 20 MHz Intel or Weitek math
coprocessor.

• 5.25" 1 2 MB or 3.5" 144 MB diskette drive

• Track buffered high speed disketle/hard disk
controller.

• Enhanced 101 tactile "dick" key board with
copy holder and dust cover

• High speed 16 bit VGA controller.

• I parallel. 1 serial port and a Microsoft
compatible bus mouse port

• 200 watt power supply.

• 8 industry standard expansion slots

• Power reset switch.

• Security keylock

• AMI bios

• Real time dock with battery backup.

• MS-DOS and MS-OS/2 compatible

Popular Options

2 MB to 16 MB expansion memory options

25 MHz Intel coprocessor chip

Internal or external tape backup.

CSR 386/20
Hard Do* Dnvri

Mormon
VGA Mono

1MB RAM 4MB RAM

AOifim

VGA Color

1MB RAM 4MB1AM

40 MB 22 MS
ST/306

<3.099

<4,099

<3,399

<4,399

68 MB 22 MS

<3.199

<4.199

<3.499

<4.499

90 MB 18 M5
DOC

<3,699

<4.699

<4,099

<5.099

130 MB 16 MS
DPI

<4.199

<5.199

<4.499

<5.499

J22 .MB 18 MS
DO!

14.799

<5,799

<5.099

<6.099

CSR 386/25c

• Intel 80386 Microprocessor running at

MHz

• I MB RAM expandable to 16 MB on the
system board.

• .Advanced Austek Cache memory controller
with 32K of high speed static RAM Cache.

• Page mode interleave memory architecture.

• Socket for 25 MHz Intel or Weitek math
coprocessor.

• 5.25" 1 2 MB or 3.5" 1.44 MB diskette drive

• Track buffered high speed diskette/hard disk
controller.

• Enhanced 101 tactile "dick" keyboard with
copy holder and dust cover.

• High speed 16 bit VGA controller.

• 1 parallel, 1 serial port and a Microsoft
compatible bus mouse port.

■ 200 wan power supply

• 8 industry standard expansion slots.

• Power reset switch

• Security keylock.

• Award bios.

• Real time clock with battery backup.

• MS-DOS and MS-OS/2 compatible

Popular Options

2 MB to 16 MB expansion memory options.
25 MHz Intel coprocessor chip.

Internal or external tape backup

CSR j86.'25c
HiriDHkDrw

Monitors
VGA Mono

1MB RAM m 1AM

i Adapters

VGA C*ir

1MB RAM 4MI1 RAM

60 MB 18 MS
ESDI

<4,799

<5,799

<5,199

<6,199

ISO MB 18 MS
ESDI

<5,299

<6.299

<5,699

<6,699

322 MB 18 MS
ESDI

15.699

<6.699

<6,099

<7.099

SSSi 800-366-1277

Computer Systems Research

We build ours better.

Circle 64 on Reader Service Card

JW1NV1

56 Fal 11989 • B Y T E IBM Special Edition

COMR

IBM SPECIAL ISSUE

Redefining
the Standards

What did and didn ’t happen , what came and went ,
and what’s coming—maybe ...

Martin Heller

n the cover of the June
BYTE it says "The Fast¬
est 386s Ever?" Inside
are reviews of real PCs
running the 80386 chip
at 33 MHz. That’s fast—a noticeable im¬
provement over last year’s speed record,
which was 20 MHz, (Between 20 MHz
and 33 MHz, you briefly saw 25-MHz
machines.) For software developers and
others needing the horsepower—like
people needing fast LAN servers—33
MHz is the new standard.

Meanwhile, Intel announced the
80486—four times faster than the 80386
at the same clock rate, with clock rates
destined to go higher yet—and the
80860, a supercomputer on a chip that
can also act as a coprocessor for the
80386 or 80486. When you see a real
machine running an 80486 at 40 MHz
with an 80860 processor, you’ll be see¬
ing a PC capable of solid modeling in real
time. For engineers and designers that
need such things, this scenario is a revo¬
lutionary change. Even though you can
now get this sort of performance on high-
end engineering workstations, having an
affordable PC with these capabilities
opens a whole new world.

This year, a fast PC goes at 33 MHz
and performs about 8 million instruc¬
tions per second. Last year, a fast PC
went at 20 MHz and ran at 5 MIPS; the
standards are changing quickly. Now, a
“big" PC has 300 megabytes of hard disk
storage, 8 megabytes of RAM, tape

backup, and a CD-ROM drive. In addi¬
tion, a high-resolution PC displays 256
colors at 640 by 480 pixels, 16 colors at
800 by 600 pixels, or black and white at
1280 by 720 pixels, and it prints fonts
from 6 to 60 points at 300 dots per inch,
A portable PC can fit into your briefcase,
with room to spare for your notepad,
pens, and paperwork.

During the past few years, AT-class
computers have become commodity
items, and PC-class computers have be¬
come inexpensive enough to buy for
home use. OS/2 caught on among pro¬
grammers, but not enough OS/2 applica¬
tions came out to interest users in the
complexities—or RAM requirements—
of a new operating system. Unix got
ported to the 80386 and started looking
like a possible competitor to OS/2. Lotus
1-2-3 release 3.0, dBASE IV, and a lot of
other software slipped behind schedule.
DOS 4,0 had so many bugs that few peo¬
ple upgraded from DOS 3.3,

There’s a trend here—the same trend
that has been characteristic of the com¬
puter industry since 1948: Computers
keep getting faster, smaller, and less
expensive.

Chips on silicon are getting denser and
faster—but new technology is waiting to
take over. For instance, RISC chips,
currently used in engineering worksta¬
tions, are produced both in silicon and in
gallium arsenide—which can run much
faster. When this technology becomes
inexpensive enough for PCs, you’ll see

another round of speed improvements.
Further on the horizon, quantum transis¬
tors may replace bulk transistors on
chips, which will lead to even more
improvement.

In Search of New Standards
First, the old standards are still out there.
Despite what you read, wherever the
price matters more than the perfor¬
mance, machines using the 8088 are still
alive and well. My writing’s a good ex¬
ample: I may use a 20-MHz 80386 ma¬
chine with a hard disk drive for program¬
ming, but I use a 4.77-MHz 80C88-
based laptop for word processing. In
other words, I don’t need a Porsche when
a Hyundai Excel can get me to and from
the supermarket.

But there are some new standards.
IBM’s Micro Channel architecture
(MCA) looks like it might have some
uses after all. Microsoft Windows seems
like it’s becoming a standard for a graph¬
ical environment. At least 640K bytes of
RAM per machine is a new standard,
too. Others include EMS 4.0 and XMS
(memory standards for expanded and ex¬
tended memory under DOS), as well as
the virtual-control program interface
(VCPI), a standard for control programs
and DOS extenders on 80386-based ma¬
chines. Finally, there is OS/2, which
IBM and Microsoft would like to make
into the standard multitasking protected-
mode operating system.

continued

B YTE IBM Special Edition ■ Fail 1989 57

REDEFINING THE STANDARDS

Around these standards, there’s a
plethora of products, PCs are packaged
as towers, desktops, portables, and
laptops. Their processors include Intel's
8088, 80286, 80386SX, 80386, and-in
the dream world of announced products
not yet shipping—the 80486 and 80860.

Given identical clock rates, an 80286
is still faster than an 8088. However, the
clock rate enters the performance equa¬
tion, too. The original PC ran its 8088 at
4*77 MHz; turbo PCs run the 8088 as
fast as 10 MHz* The original AT ran its
80286 at 6 MHz—this produced a ma¬
chine that was seven times faster than a
PC. Improved 80286 chips, including
the CMOS 80286 variant, are powering
machines at up to 20 MHz—although the
garden-variety AT clone that sells for
well under $2000 probably runs at 10 or
12 MHz. Available from Intel are 80386
chips rated for speeds of up to 33 MHz;
at this writing, the first few 33-MHz ma¬
chines are shipping*

A 33-MHz 80386 running with zero
wait states pans out at about 8 MIPS—
roughly eight times faster than the DEC
VAX-11/780—for ordinary integer in¬
structions* Without a numeric copro¬
cessor, its floating-point performance is
still pathetically slow. With a 20-MHz
80387, it runs at about 220,000 floating¬
point operations per second; with a 20-
MHz Weitek coprocessor (and software
to match), it cruises at about 450,000
FLOPS.

The 33-MHz 80387, which is not ship¬
ping yet, should run at about 350,000
FLOPS. The 33-MHz Weitek Abacus has
just been announced, but it should run at
about 650,000 FLOPS. For CAD, CAE,
and scientific computing, the floating¬
point performance of a computer is just
as important as the integer perfor¬
mance—if not more so.

The announced 80486 includes the nu¬
meric processing functions of the 80387
as well as the integer processing func¬
tions of the 80386—and some additional
advanced features—all on one chip. It is
expected to run about four times faster
than an 80386/80387 pair at the same
clock rate, and Intel expects to push it to
higher clock rates.

Intel has also announced the 80860,
which can operate as a coprocessor to the
80486—giving even better floating¬
point, signal-processing, and graphics
performance. Industry speculation is
that the 80860 could be the basis of a
desktop supercomputer* The 80860 pro¬
totype boards in PS/2s have already out¬
performed high-end workstations in
demos* Tantalizing stuff, but a bit far off
to affect this year's buying plans.

Storage, Storage, Storage

Processor performance is only part of
the story in computer performance. The
other part, which, in some applications
(e.g., accounting), is the dominant part,
is I/O performance* On PCs, there are
four major flavors of floppy disks—5 l A-
inch and 3 Vfe-inch form factors at low and
high density, giving 360K-byte, 1.2-mega-
byte, 720K-byte, and 1.44-megabyte ca¬
pacities. All are very slow—10 times
slower than the slowest hard disks* Hard
disk drives can have access times as slow
as 80 milliseconds or as fast as 14 ms.

Interestingly, the 720K-byte 3 l ^-mch
floppy disk was available at the time the
PC was introduced. But despite its ad¬
vantages, it didn't become widely ac¬
cepted in the PC world until the laptop
phenomenon took off late last year* Lap¬
tops (despite an FA A threat to ban them
from airplanes) now seem ubiquitous.

Transfer speed is just as important as
access times to a hard disk drive's per¬
formance. Four kinds of hard disk drive
interface are currently available—modi¬
fied frequency modulation, run-length-
limited, ESDI, and SCSI. MFM, also
called ST-506, is the standard; RLL is
basically MFM with data compression,
which buys you higher data density and
faster access at the expense of reduced
reliability. RLL controllers are recom¬
mended only for RLL-rated disk drives,
ESDI, a technology that migrated from
minicomputers to PCs, has a data trans¬
fer rate roughly twice that of MFM hard
disk drives* SCSI hard disk drives don't
have a fixed transfer rate—since SCSI is
a systems interface and not a plain drive
interface, the drive has enough intelli¬
gence to negotiate transfers with the con¬
troller, The promise of SCSI to give fast,
inexpensive drives hasn't really been
fulfilled yet. In head-to-head compari¬
sons, ESDI drives still tend to outper¬
form SCSI drives. But as SCSI drives and
controllers improve, they'll probably get
faster than ESDI drives.

Hard disk drives come as small as 10
megabytes and as large as 450 mega¬
bytes. It's a good bet that a 10-megabyte
hard disk drive will have an 80-ms access
time and an MFM interface, and a 150-
megabyte or larger hard disk drive will
have an access time of under 30 ms and
either an ESDI or a SCSI. Whether ESDI
or SCSI will dominate the high-end hard
disk drive market in the future is any¬
body's guess. Most hard disk drive
manufacturers are hedging their bets and
are producing larger, faster drives with
both interfaces.

For even more capacity, you have to
switch from magnetic to optical disks.

There are three kinds of optical disks:
CD-ROMs, WORMs (write once, read
many times), and erasable optical disks.
CD-ROM disks are read-only digital ver¬
sions of audio compact disks. They hold
550 megabytes and are inexpensive to
produce in quantity—mastering a CD-
ROM costs about $1500, and reproduc¬
ing one costs about $2 per platter. CD-
ROM drives sell for about $700*

CD-ROMs are coming of age as an
information distribution medium, with
about 200,000 CD-ROM drives in the
field and about 600 titles—including
worthwhile, readily available applica¬
tions such as Microsoft Programmer's
Library, the Oxford English Dictionary,
and Grolier's Electronic Encyclopedia.
However, CD-ROM drives are slow com¬
pared to hard disk drives. In addition,
CD-ROM drive interfaces have not been
standardized, so it is not possible to
freely mix CD-ROM drives and control¬
lers.

WORM drives are a near-ideal medi¬
um for backup and archival storage; their
higher speed and low mastering costs
make them a good alternative to CD-
ROMs for small-audience products.
WORM gear is expensive, though—
drives cost about $2500, and disks can
cost $100 each, so the economics favor
CD-ROM plus a tape backup.

The revolutionary change in hard disk
storage this year has been rewritable, re¬
movable optical disks—first seen on the
NeXT machine and announced shortly
afterward for PCs*

NeXT-style 256-megabyte rewritable
magneto-optical cartridges cost $50 for
the media and $1500 for the drive. Simi¬
lar products announced for the PC list for
more like $4500. And 20-megabyte 3 Vi-
inch “floptical" disks ($8) and drives
($250) from Insite Peripherals also let
you "carry your whole world with you*"
While too slow to replace hard disk
drives, too expensive to use as a software
distribution medium, and not likely to be
widely available this year, floptical disks
look like a good bet to become standard
equipment on high-end PCs and work¬
stations in the early 1990s.

For backup today, the best storage
value for your money still comes on tape.
High-density streaming cartridge and
cassette tape drives cost about $10 per
megabyte of storage capacity—for in¬
stance, a 60-megabyte streaming car¬
tridge tape drive goes for about $600; the
media costs about 50 cents per megabyte.
And you certainly wouldn't want to back
up a 150-megabyte hard disk drive onto
floppy disks. Daily tape backups are

continued

58 Fail L989 - B Y T E IBM Special Edition

NOLOGY

PLEASE CONTACT:

PROSYSTEM

Computer Technic

Ausiriu Europe

A-1010 Wien, Parkring 12A/8/5
Td.: AUSTRIA-222/51 34 760-0*

Tlx.: 112937 prole a - Fax: AUSTRIA-222/51 34 764

R-TECH

R-CODE

GRAPHICAL

PROGRAMMING

R-CODE

IBM-Host

VM/370,CMS,VM/SP
Assembler, Cobol, C,
Fortran, PascalJ^L-1

DEC-MINI/-HOST

PDP-11,VAX (VMS)
for-C

for-FORTRAN
for-PASCAL
tor-ASSEMBLER

R-CODE

Future Systems
7-DOS, 7-NIX
?-Compiler
?-Interpreter
?-Procedural language

Standard PC's

PC-DOS/MS-DOS

TURBO-PASCAL

TURBO-C

MS-C

MODULA-2

Example of graphic Mod u I a - 2 program

MODU LE Prim Id:

FROM InOut IMPORT Read. Write .Writeln;
VAR c;CHAR:

WriteLn;

Retul(c)

Writeiei:

Reud(c)

END Printld.

And the same program
in traditional form

MODULE PrmtEd;

I ROM lnOut IMiORT R^WnreAYiitcLn:
VAR P :CHAk;

BEGIN

ft^tidCeE

WHILE c < >\‘DQ
IF c=YTHEN
WriicLn:

Rciut(e);

WHILE c= T, D«

RcillHc)

END:

ELSE

Wriiete);

Rearttd

END;

WrftcLn
END Printld,

Circle 218 on Reader Service Card

REDEFINING THE STANDARDS

COMPANY INFORMATION

Adaptive Networks

Autodesk, Inc.

Intel Corp.

Kendall Sq.

2320 Marinship Way

Personal Computer Enhancement

P.O. Box 1020

Sausalito, CA 94965

Operation

Cambridge, MA 02142

(415) 332-2344

15220 Greenbrier Pkwy.

(617)497-5150

Inquiry 915.

Mail Stop C03-04

Inquiry 881.

Beaverton, OR 97006

CADKey, Inc.

(800) 538-3373

Adobe Systems, Inc.

440 Oakland St.

(503) 629-7369

1585 Charleston Rd.

Manchester, CT 06040

Inquiry 896.

P.O. Box 7900

(203) 647-0220

Mountain View, CA 94039

Inquiry 916.

Microsoft Corp.

(415) 961-4400

16011 Northeast 36th Way

Inquiry 882.

Canon USA, Inc.

P.O.Box 97017

1 Canon Plaza

Redmond, WA 98073

Advanced Logic Research, Inc.

Lake Success, NY 11042

(800) 426-9400

9401 Jeronimo

(516) 488-6700

(206) 882-8080

Irvine, CA 92718
(714) 581-6770

Inquiry 889.

Inquiry 897.

Inquiry 883.

Compaq Computer Corp.

O’Neill Communications, Inc.

20555 SH 249

100 Thanet Cir.

AGFA Compugraphic

Houston, TX 77070

Princeton, NJ 08540

200 Ballardvale St.

(800) 231-0900

(609) 924-1095

Wilmington, MAO 1887

(713) 370-0670

Inquiry 898.

(800) 822-5524

Inquiry 890.

(508) 658-5600

Open Software Foundation

Inquiry 884.

Everex Systems, Inc.

11 Cambridge Center

48431 Milmont Dr.

Cambridge, MA 02142

A.I. Architects, Inc.

Fremont, CA 94538

(617) 621-8700

1 Intercontinental Way

(415)498-1111

Inquiry 899.

Peabody, MA 01960

Inquiry 891.

(508) 535-7512

Phar Lap Software, Inc.

Inquiry 914.

Hewlett-Packard Co.

60 Aberdeen Ave.

Office Systems Division

Cambridge, MA 02138

Aldus Corp.

8010 Foothills Blvd.

(617) 661-1510

411 First Ave. S, Suite 200

Roseville, CA 95678

Inquiry 900.

Seattle, WA 98104

(916) 786-8000

(206) 622-5500

Inquiry 892.

Pixar, Inc.

(408) 727-8484

P.O. Box 13719

Inquiry 885.

Hitachi America, Ltd.

San Rafael, CA 94915

Office Automation Systems

(415) 499-3600

Amdek Corp.

19530 Cabot Blvd.

Inquiry 917.

3471 North First St.

Hayward, CA 94545

San Jose, CA 95134

(415) 785-9770

Quadram

(800) 722-6335

Inquiry 893.

One Quad Way

(408) 436-8570

Norcross, GA 30093

Inquiry 886.

IBM

(404) 923-6666

900 King Dr.

Inquiry 901.

AST Research, Inc.

Rye Brook, NY 10573

2121 Alton Ave.

(800) 426-2468

Quarterdeck Office Systems

Irvine, CA 92714

Inquiry 894.

150 Pico Blvd.

(714) 863-1333

Santa Monica, CA 90405

Inquiry 887.

Insite Peripherals, Inc.

(213) 392-9851

2363 Calle del Mundo

Inquiry 902.

AT&T Data Systems Group

Santa Clara, CA 95054

100 Southgate Pkwy.

(408) 727-8484

Rational Systems, Inc.

Morristown, NJ 07960

Inquiry 895.

220 North Main St.

(800) 247-1212

P.O.Box 480

Inquiry 888.

Natick, MA 01760
(508) 653-6006

Inquiry 903.

60 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

REDEFINING THE STANDARDS

Sony Corp. of America
Computer Peripheral Products
Sony Dr.

Park Ridge, NJ 07656
(201)930-1000

Inquiry 904.

TEAC America, Inc.

7733 Telegraph Rd.
Montebello, CA 90640
(213) 726-0303

Inquiry 905.

Trans-M Corp.

28 Blacksmith Dr.

Medfield, MA 02052
(508) 359-5144

Inquiry 906.

Unix International
6 Century Dr.

Parsippany, NJ 07054
(800) 848-6495
(201)263-8400
Inquiry 907.

Weitek Corp.

1060 East Arques Ave.
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
(408) 738-8400

Inquiry 908.

Wyse Technology
3571 North First St.

San Jose, CA 95134
(800) 438-9973
(408) 473-1200
Inquiry 909.

Zenith Data Systems
1000 Milwaukee Ave.
Glenview, II 60025
(800) 842-9000
(312) 699-4800
Inquiry 910.

inexpensive insurance against losing
your data.

On the cutting edge of new technology
are higher-density tapes. For instance,
TEAC America has a hard disk drive that
stores 320 megabytes on cassettes. For
even higher density, look for tape drives
based on 4-millimeter digital-audio tape
cassettes, which can hold gigabytes and
are headed toward being able to handle
terabyte capacities. Like VCRs, DAT
drives use helical-scan techniques. Heli¬
cal scan is a diagonal recording tech¬
nique that provides for very high-density
storage. Under development are cassette
drives using helical-scan techniques.

Coming down the pike is digital paper ,
the latest thing in a write-once optical-
storage medium. Digital paper differs
from existing WORM media in that it is
flexible and can be cut, stamped, and
otherwise made into a variety of prod¬
ucts, including floppy Bernoulli disks
and tapes (see “Digital Paper,” Febru¬
ary BYTE). Its promise is to make small¬
er, faster, and less-expensive WORM
drives as available for PCs as floppy disk
drives are today.

Seeing Is Believing

The most obvious part of a computer is
the display; today there are video options
from monochrome to SuperVGA to spe¬
cialized intelligent display systems for
CAD/CAM, imaging, and solid model¬
ing. SuperVGA systems can display TV-
quality images; 256 colors from a palette
of 256,000 gives the illusion of continu¬
ous color, and 640- by 480-pixel resolu¬
tion appears photographic if given an
image with continuous color.

With such a system and appropriate
software, you can display a digitized or a
synthesized image. Solid modeling or
rendering software with Gouraud or
Phong shading, such as CADKey solids,
can compute and display a convincing
image of a three-dimensional solid; with
the addition of Pixar’s RenderMan soft¬
ware, the solid can have natural textures,
and the image can be photo-realistic.
Autodesk and CADKey have both an¬
nounced support for RenderMan; neither
has announced when it will be available.

High-resolution color displays are
good for more than displaying images;
Windows, Presentation Manager (PM),
and a number of other graphical user in¬
terfaces (see “A Guide to GUIs,” July
BYTE) virtually require high resolution.
The worst-case display for Windows is
CGA, whose “high” resolution turns out
to be a less-than-acceptable 640 by 200
pixels in black and white. On the other
hand, the right SuperVGA card with a

multiple-frequency monitor can display
Windows at 800- by 600-pixel resolution
with 16 colors for a combined cost of
about $1000. For about the same price,
the Wyse 700 terminal displays 1280- by
760-pixel resolution in black and white.

High-resolution color images hog your
hard disk drive, use lots of RAM, and
stress the system. Even with the com¬
pression built into a format like GIF (for
graphics interchange format), a 640- by
480- by 256-pixel color photographic
image can easily take a quarter megabyte
or more to store. The sheer size of such a
file means it will take a while to load—
anywhere from 10 seconds to several
minutes. Computing such an image with
even the best rendering software and PC
hardware available takes the better part
of an hour, and with run-of-the-mill
equipment, it’s an overnight job.

To deal with this problem, there are
several emerging CD-ROM vision and
sound standards. Digital Video Interac¬
tive (DVI) uses a highly compressed
hardware/software scheme to fit an
hour’s worth of fully animated images
and sound onto a CD-ROM, which other¬
wise would hold only a few minutes’
worth.

For less-demanding applications,
Microsoft, Philips, and Sony have col¬
laborated on the CD-ROM extended ar¬
chitecture (XA), which is a variation on
current CD-ROM drives that uses an
adaptive compression chip and an ordi¬
nary CD-ROM drive to combine high-fi¬
delity sound with photographic-quality
images.

At the moment, CD-ROM XA demos
animate an image of a few inches and
synchronize it with stereo sound: “Talk¬
ing heads” are within the capabilities of
the technology, but the larger images
that DVI produces require considerably
more hardware and are still out of reach.

Back to the Bus

The original PC bus carries 8 bits of data
at a time; the AT bus, also called the In¬
dustry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus,
carries 16 bits. For slow peripherals,
such as serial and parallel ports driving
modems and printers, 8 bits of data com¬
ing from the bus is plenty. For fast disk
drives, a 16-bit data path helps speed
things up. However, for very high-speed
devices, such as memory, even a 16-bit
bus can be a bottleneck.

This problem has at least three solu¬
tions. Compaq, ALR, AST, Everex, and
other manufacturers of high-perfor¬
mance 80386-based machines use a sec¬
ond, high-speed 32-bit bus for memory.

continued

BYTE IBM Special Edition • Fall 1989 61

REDEFINING THE STANDARDS

CL printers
are multiplying like gerbils. It isn ’t
just that they ’re cheaper than
PostScript printers—they ’re also
convenient for PCs since they print
text without any special settings.

Compaq calls this “flex architecture.”
The advantage of this solution is high
performance, but it comes at the expense
of standardization—memory-expansion
boards for 80386-based systems are not
interchangeable,

IBM’s MCA bus supports a rich set of
bus-control signals, including “bus mas-
ters,” This flexibility means that MCA
can support multiple processors directly.
MCA also has enough grounding and
shielding for a higher bus frequency-
rumor has it that it can go as high as 80
MHz, or 10 times the rate of the AT bus.
Unfortunately for anyone with an invest¬
ment in ATs, the MCA bus is totally in¬
compatible with ISA cards.

Extended ISA, a rival 32-bit bus stan¬
dard promoted by the “Gang of Nine”
(Compaq and other rivals of IBM), main¬
tains compatibility with ISA cards. EISA
members do not propose to standardize
memory architectures. Instead, they in¬
tend to continue to compete in the area of
memory subsystems.

Obsolete Processors?

Is the 8088 a has-been? Hardly. Even
though the other Intel processors are
faster, the 8088 consumes the least
amount of power, especially in CMOS,
This makes the 80C88 the obvious
choice for battery-powered laptops. The
one I use runs for VA hours on a little
2-amp-hour nickel-cadmium battery.
And 8088-based computers are inexpen¬
sive enough (under $1000) to be sold as
home computers.

Is the 80286 without value? Not if you
care how much bang for a buck you get.
AT clones have become commodities—
you can buy them complete with a hard
disk drive for well under $2000. If you
care about multitasking, an 80386 might
be a better choice, but if you are on a bud¬
get, you can do f ine with an 80286.

Is the 80386SX an idea whose time
will never come? Not likely. What the

80386SX chip is good for is making an
inexpensive computer with the flexibility
and multitasking abilities of a full
80386, but without the performance of
one. Lots of applications can benefit
from the 80386’s memory management
capabilities without requiring screaming
performance™for example, desktop
publishing. There’s enough competition
between vendors so that an 80386SX ma¬
chine might not cost any more than an
80286 with the same performance.

Does anyone really need a 33-MHz
80386? Well, I do. Programming Win¬
dows and OS/2 applications exercises a
computer like nothing else. Rebuilding a
300K-byte program on an XT used to
take me 8 hours; now 1 can do it in about
15 minutes on my 80386-based ALR
FlexCache with a fast ESDI disk drive.

Printers Galore

I used to have a daisy-wheel printer in my
office. The output was beautiful, but
when it was running I had to leave the of¬
fice to preserve my hearing. So I re¬
placed this “machine gun” with a near¬
letter-quality dot-matrix printer, which
wasn’t much better; it sounded like an
air-raid siren.

A laser printer put an end to this prob¬
lem. It makes less noise than a copy ma¬
chine while printing immaculate text at
eight pages per minute. However, at
prices of about $2000 and up, it’s not for
everyone. One alternative is the ink-jet
printer. For about $700, the HP DeskJet
offers the same 300-dpi resolution as
laser printers and the same silent opera¬
tion—although at a much slower printing
speed.

For desktop publishing, there’s noth¬
ing like a PostScript printer. It’s true that
the software packages support the less-
expensive Printer Control Language
(PCL) printers, but these printers use up
lots of disk space for holding download¬
able fonts.

Up until this year, Adobe had dose
control of the PostScript market it
created. It managed this feat by encrypt¬
ing its fonts partially in the fonts them¬
selves and partially in the PostScript
controller. Adobe is so proud of its en¬
cryption that its president, John War-
nock, publicly challenged anyone to
break the scheme.

Hackers, however, love a challenge.
Needless to say, Adobe’s encryption has
been broken, and it is now offering to li¬
cense its technology. This opens the
door for primer controllers with ersatz
PostScript interpreters to use Adobe
fonts, and for competing type foundries
to offer PostScript fonts with Adobe en¬
cryption and hints (rules that improve the
quality of scalable type in small sizes).

At the same time, PCL printers are
multiplying like gerbils. It isn’t just that
they’re much cheaper than PostScript
printers—they’re also more convenient
for PCs since they print ordinary text as
received without any special settings.
The HP LaserJet and its descendants and
imitators have sold so well that just about
all software supports them.

Because of the success of the HP laser
printers and because the PCL language
and font formats have been openly avail¬
able, numerous vendors have produced
fonts for HP-compatible laser printers.
In the last year, Bitstream has revolution¬
ized the font market with FontWare.
This technology can scale HP fonts to
any size from 6 to 64 points.

All the high-end word processing and
desktop publishing companies got into
the act—Lotus started shipping Font-
Ware with Manuscript, Microsoft in¬
cluded it with Word, WordPerfect in¬
cluded it with Us eponymous best-selling
word processor, and Aldus shipped it
with PageMaker. At the same time. Bit-
stream offered a large family of Font-
Ware typefaces for $ 199 each.

Recently, several other type vendors
have jumped into the fray with their own
scalable font systems. Of these, perhaps
the most formidable is Compugraphic.
Users can only welcome the competition,
which will undoubtedly bring the prices
of scalable fonts down to affordable
levels.

Many Tasks, Big Tasks,
or Many Big Tasks?

One of the most emotional issues in the
trade press this past year has been the
merit of and prognosis for OS/2. The
pro-IBM/pro-Microsoft camp takes the
religious position that OS/2 is the or¬
dained and logical successor to DOS,
Doubters and heretics, although divided

62 Fall 1989 • B Y T E IBM Special Edition

Circle 25S on Reader Service Card

REDEFINING THE STANDARDS

into camps favoring various alternatives
to OS/2, are united in decrying OS/2 as
fat, incomplete, overambitious, under-
supported, and, most damning of all, as¬
sociated with IBM,

At present, OS/2 is an excellent oper¬
ating system that offers little or no bene¬
fit to end users* For a developer, OS/2
offers robust multitasking, transparent
memory management, and excellent de¬
velopment and debugging tools. Given a
choice between trying new code under
OS/2 or under DOS, I’ll always choose
OS/2, Under OS/2, the bugs show up at
the instruction that caused them, instead
of, under DOS, resulting in a hung ma¬
chine and possibly a corrupted disk
directory.

For an end user, OS/2 offers only po¬
tential. Too many of the currently avail¬
able applications for OS/2 are little more
than ports of DOS or Windows applica¬
tions. In some cases, they are better or
faster or have bigger workspaces than
under DOS; in other cases, something
has been lost in the translation. Mostly,
this situation is a matter of immaturity.
OS/2 (and, in particular, PM) is still an
infant system, with little user and soft¬
ware base.

Up until the beginning of the summer,
for instance, the only PM printer driver I
had was for an IBM dot-matrix printer;
now I have a full set of Epson printer
drivers and a PostScript driver. The ge¬
neric driver with HP LaserJet support is
coming—you guessed it —real soon.

Unix is much more mature, but it was
designed by programmers for program¬
mers* OS/2 demands at least 8 megabytes
of space on your hard disk drive, and its
GUI, PM, comes standard with the sys¬
tem* Unix demands at least 32 mega¬
bytes, and it has several competing
GUIs, none of which is standard. Of
these, OSF/Motif (from Open Software
Foundation) has the virtue of interopera¬
bility with PM and the backing of over
100 of the players in the Unix market.
But Open Look has the backing of both
Unix originator AT&T and Unix Interna¬
tional, the rival consortium to OSF,

While Unix and OS/2 both offer full¬
blown multitasking and virtual memory,
most of the DOS-based alternatives offer
only one or the other—and sometimes
neither* DOS extenders, such as Rational
System's DOS/16M (used by Lotus for
its 1-2-3 release 3.0), offer access to all
the extended memory in your machine,
up to the 80286 , s addressable limit of 16
megabytes of RAM. This is a big im¬
provement over DOS's 640K-byte limit,
but it won't let you run a 20-megabyte
program in 4 megabytes of RAM like a

virtual memory system will.

Phar Lap's 3861 VMM is a full-blown,
paged virtual memory system that runs a
2(Tmegabyte program in 4 megabytes of
RAM—but it is limited to pricey 80386-
based systems. And neither Phar Lap’s
product nor Rational System's allows
multitasking* AT* Architects has a prod¬
uct that does both DOS extension and
multitasking^but only if you buy its
HummingBoard, which is essentially an¬
other computer*

DESQview allows multitasking, but it
won’t permit a single application to use
more than 640K bytes of memory. Win¬
dows/386 allows multitasking of DOS
and Windows applications, but, again,
DOS applications can’t have access to
more than 640K bytes of memory, and
the memory management used by Win¬
dows applications is somewhat limited
and incurs a large overhead. To give you
an idea of how much overhead, consider
that when Windows 2.1 increased the
memory available to Windows programs
by a mere 60K bytes, PageMaker and Ex¬
cel both ran three times faster.

Windows applications are, in fact,
very similar to PM applications. One
paradoxical result of the marketing push
behind OS/2 and PM has been that Win¬
dows under DOS has flourished like
never before. Microsoft is now shipping
more copies of Windows than Apple is
shipping Macs; somehow, I don't think
that was what IBM intended*

When Is a PC Not a PC?

It is a tribute to the power of 20 million
PCs and the applications that run on
them that most workstations and mini¬
computers support virtual PCs. They
support them in two ways; with a PC
board or with PC-emulation software.

At the same time, high-end PCs are
trying to be workstations and minicom¬
puters* What's the difference between a
PC and a workstation? It's not just the
nameplate. Workstations come with big
displays, lots of RAM and disk space,
Ethernet built in, and specialized soft¬
ware. The very word workstation denotes
connectivity. The phrase personal com¬
puter denotes isolation and autonomy.

Workstation vendors are quick to tell
you that their systems and applications
software make as much difference as
their hardware. Workstations generally
run Unix or something similar and al¬
ways have a GUI; the mouse and graphics
display come standard. Intense engineer¬
ing applications, such as printed-circuit-
board routing, take advantage of all
workstation features; gobs of memory,

continued

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B Y T E IBM Special Edition - Fall 1989 63

Circle 215 on Reader Service Card

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REDEFINING THE STANDARDS

scads of disk space, plenty of pixels,
transparent networking, and a GUI.

GUIs are necessary features on a
workstation for many reasons. To begin
with, they look good. Don’t discount vi¬
sual appeal—it makes a big difference in
your attitude if you’re looking at some¬
thing attractive. In addition, GUIs are
easy to learn and easy to use. Then throw
into the GUI’s feature/benefit statement
the advantage of interoperability among
different computers and operating sys¬
tems, and you have some rather compel¬
ling reasons for mice and windows. Once
you have learned to use Microsoft Win¬
dows, for instance, you’ll find that you
already know how to use OSF/Motif and
OS/2 PM.

To LAN, or Not to LAN?

PC LANs have begun to seriously chal¬
lenge minicomputers as the best host for
multiuser applications. You would think
that computers would be cheaper by the
dozen, but when you have to wire them
together, the costs add up quickly.

Consider that the file server is prob¬
ably a 25- or 33-MHz 80386 machine
with at least 6 megabytes of RAM and
300 megabytes of hard disk space. It
needs an uninterruptible power supply to
avoid file and database corruption prob¬
lems; its software costs anywhere from
$2000 to $8000; and its network cards
and wiring are likely to run $500 per
workstation. LANs may be cheap com¬
pared to minicomputers, but they can be
pricey compared to stand-alone micro¬
computers, even considering the savings
gained by sharing peripherals.

One way to cut the cost of a network is
to use diskless workstations. MIS man¬
agers love this solution—it gives them
back the control they lost when PCs
started taking over from big iron. But a
user on a diskless workstation is totally
dependent on the availability of the file
server. One little disk problem, and you
have 50 people telling customers, “I’m
sorry, I can’t help you right now—the
system’s down.”

Another way to reduce the cost of a
network is to eliminate the file server.
However, in the process, you lose some
performance and features. OS/2 LAN
Manager, while it embodies a client-
server model, can be set up with servers
running as tasks on workstations. Trans-
M is one firm that makes a peer-to-peer
network, also known as a zero-slot LAN.

There are some modems that now let
PCs communicate through wall sockets.
You can plug your computer in, unplug
it, move it, and plug it in again; it will
still be able to communicate with other

PCs equipped with this type of modem.
Adaptive Networks is one of the compa¬
nies that make this type of modem.

A relatively new wrinkle on the whole
LAN concept is to eliminate the wires al¬
together. O’Neill Communications has
developed a wireless LAN that uses a
high-frequency radio to communicate
between network nodes. The local-area
wireless network is designed primarily
for workgroups with as many as 20 users
who want to share peripherals, such as
laser printers or modems, to transfer
files, and to send and receive E-mail. A
LAWN doesn’t allow file sharing, and its
operating system won’t support client/
server applications.

Although the $495 cost per node of a
LAWN is higher than most low-end or
zero-slot LANs, which run as low as
$100 per node, O’Neill Communications
claims that the savings from not having to
wire up a network more than compen¬
sates for the difference.

The Yellow Brick Road

What’s happening in IBM’s Oz? If you
look down the yellow brick road, you’ll
see faster, smaller, and less-expensive
PCs. You’ll also see standardized win¬
dow-icon-mouse-pixel interfaces across
all computing platforms and operating
systems, and transparent data exchange
among different brands of computers,
whether they run DOS, OS/2, Unix,
VMS, or Pick. Along with optical-stor¬
age facilities, helical-scan tape backup
devices will become popular.

But if the past is any guide, you’re in
for some surprises. What will be the next
new application area for PCs—next
year’s equivalent of desktop publishing
or distributed databases?

The most striking thing about PCs this
year, though, isn’t how fast they run or
how portable they are or how much
graphics resolution comes in how many
zillion colors or how they network; it’s
something much more subtle. PCs have
done more than join the mainstream of
computing; by their very numbers and
practical importance, they have become
the mainstream of computing. PCs
aren’t “toys” beneath the contempt of
MIS and corporate computing managers
anymore. PCs are an essential, ubiqui-
tious part of the computing toolkit in
businesses large and small, in academia,
in science and engineering, and in pub¬
lishing. ■

Martin Heller develops software and
writes about technical computer applica¬
tions. He holds a Ph.D. in physics. He
can be reached on BIX as “ mheller. ”

64 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Atow Available

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IBM SPECIAL ISSUE

The 80486:

A Hardware
Perspective

By putting the math coprocessor and cache controller on-chip,
Intel shows that the whole can be greater than the sum of its parts

Ron Sartore

testing or programmability. Because
Intel has not publicly defined the 16 no¬
connect pins, system designers and de¬
signers of printed circuit board layouts
can immediately say: “Our project is al¬
ready 10 percent done.” Unfortunately,
completion of the job comes with more
difficulty.

Table 1 shows the pin-out differences
between the 132-pin 80386 and the 168-

y now, you probably

B know that Intel's 80486
consists of a "souped-

_ m up” 80386 processor, an

enhanced 80387 copro¬
cessor, an integral cache controller, and
8K bytes of static RAM (SRAM) all
rolled into a L2-million-transistor pack¬
age. You’ve probably read and reread all
the marketing explanations and rationale
behind the 80486 (see the text
box “The Economics of Per-
formance” on page 68).
have you thought about the
real aspects of constructing a
well-behaved, high-perfor¬
mance AT system around the
80486?

On the Pins

A comparison of the 80386
and 80486 pin-outs reveals 36
more pins on the 80486. Some
extra pins provide more
power connections to the de¬
vice, some allow the proper
use of the newly integrated
caching and coprocessor ele¬
ments, and others can be con¬
sidered outright new features.
Many have been left as ‘"no-
connects”—pins that you can
truly leave unconnected—that
will be available to future
software development tools or
to provide a method for spe¬
cific manufacturing circuit

pin 80486. The designers eliminated
four of the 803 86's pins, added 20 pins to
allow for integrated and new features,
and threw in 19 inert logic pins. All the
remaining 129 pins can be considered
logically identical. I guess that makes the
project 88 percent complete now (129 +
19 / 168 = .88 ). Piece of cake. The text
box "The New Pins on the Block” on
page 70 provides a short description for
each new signal.

What’s New?

It may be instructive to think
of the 8G486*s new features as
three different kinds of
“hooks”: cost-reduction/
convenience hooks, perfor-
nance-improvement hooks,
ind f uture hooks. Some of the
new features hit combinations
of these. The easiest new sig¬
nal to categorize is the pin
that identifies transfers to an
8-bit device (the /BS8 pin).
This pin is an obvious cost-re¬
duction/convenience feature
because it enables the 80486
to recognize and adjust itself
to devices that can accept only
8-bit transfers.

On the other hand, the sig¬
nals involving bus ownership
and control (there are three of
these) in conjunction with the
six pins used to manage the
continued

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Fall 1989 67

THE 80486: A HARDWARE PERSPECTIVE

The Economics of Performance

I f ihe laws of supply and demand con¬
tinue to function as they have in the
past, you may be able to purchase an
80486 system for less than some compa¬
rably configured 33-MHz 80386 sys¬
tems. When you total the cost of a 33-
MHz 80386 CPU, a 33-MHz 80387
math coprocessor, and a 33-MHz 82385
cache controller chip, you come up with
$991. That's $41 more than the cost of
the 25-MHz 80486 chip. The compari¬
son becomes even more lopsided when
you consider that the 33-MHz 80386 de¬
sign requires expensive static RAM and
glue logic that raises the ante even more,
it becomes laughable when you consider
the difference in performance.

It's interesting that Intel should ini¬
tially price the 80486 chip lower than a
not-so-comparable 33-MHz 80386 chip
set. Intel certainly knows that the 80486
is considerably faster and has more fea¬
tures, and that PC manufacturers will
gladly pay a premium for it. From a cost
point of view, 80486 systems should sell
for less than 80386 systems. From a per¬
formance and functionality point of
view, 80486 systems should sell for
much more. Intel has provided the best
of both worlds: relatively low cost and
high performance. Eventually, supply
and demand will correct this odd situa¬
tion, presumably by reducing the mar¬
ket price of the 80386 chip sets.

What’s the Cost?

You may reasonably ask, “If the cost of
the 80486 chip is less, will an 80486

Gene Sumrall

system cost less?" Based on Intel's ini¬
tial pricing of the 25-MHz 80486 and
the 33-MHz 80386 chip sets, it appears
that the answer is yes. There is, how¬
ever, a small problem.

The first 80486 chips will be in short
supply. If Intel distributes them in the
same way that it did the 80386 chips,
initial shipments will go exclusively to
the major PC companies and large dis¬
tributors of PC components. If history
repeats itself, the first 80486 systems
may list for more than $15,000. As the
volume of 80486s increases, shipments
will find their way to the smaller, more
competitive PC companies, and that’s
when you should see an interesting
phenomenon.

Assembling a hypothetical $15,000
80486 system, dollar by dollar, should
prove instructive. The CPU will cost
$950, a price set by Intel. An 80486 sys¬
tem board, less CPU and memory,
should have a street value of about
$2750. Add in $800 for 4 megabytes of
memory, and you still have $10,500 left
to spend. A case, a 250-watt power sup¬
ply, and a quality keyboard will cost an¬
other $400. Then you include the stan¬
dard 1.2-megabyte floppy disk drive,
and, while you're at it, add a 1.44-
megabyte floppy disk drive just to be
safe. With a 100-megabyte ESDI hard
disk drive and a 1 -to-1 interleave con¬
troller, this adds about $1400,

You now have $8700 left. A quality
14-inch VGA multisync monitor and
VGA adapter card should be no more

than $650. And now the hard part: You
must find an adapter board with two
serial ports and one parallel port for
less than $8050. If you can find one for
about $45, you have succeeded in build¬
ing a base model 80486 for $6995. This
is less than some comparably config¬
ured 33-MHz 80386s.

Family Planning

When Intel introduced the 80486, it
made a promise to the PC world that
went something like this: “If you de¬
velop operating systems and software
for the 80386 instruction set, you can
depend on having a solid platform for
the next 10 years and beyond," Every
major hardware and software company
in the industry has given the Intel 80386
instruction set its blessing. Predicting
the future of the PC industry has never
been easier—it will be based on the 32-
bit 80386 instruction set. The least com¬
mon denominator has been defined.

Predicting the obvious is easy; con¬
verting that knowledge into a purchas¬
ing strategy for the 1990s is the hard
part. Perhaps I can help here. You can
immediately eliminate any processor
that does not have the ability to run the
80386 instruction set. Then your choice
is between three members of the Intel
family of 80386-based chips.

The baby of the family is the 16-MHz
8G386SX, previously known as the P9.
Think of the 80386SX as a fast 80286
chip that has the ability to run 32-bit
80386 code at a miserably slow pace. If

80486’s cache appear to contain all the
essential ingredients to construct multi¬
ple 80486 machines. The implicit soft¬
ware development needed to take full ad¬
vantage of such a hardware-concurrent
architecture is realistically five to 10
years in the future. (If that sounds pessi¬
mistic, look at how far protected-mode
code for the 80286 and 80386 has gone!)
See the text box “The BIOS Challenge"
on page 72 for more details on utilizing
the 80486.

The “new-feature" pins that provide
for a significant (though subtle) perfor¬
mance advantage—ignoring the cache
and coprocessor—are the ones associated
with the parity path and the address bit
20 gating. I'll go into the details of how
the parity path and address A20 gate in¬

crease the system’s performance later in
the article.

A History of Memory Demands

Back in 1985, when the first volume
shipments of zero-wait-state memory
add-ons for the AT became available,
users would ask: “What’s a wait state?’’
Today, performance is recognized to be
gauged almost solely on the number of
wait states between the processor and the
memory subsystem. Yet the wait-state
question is still as valid (and more com¬
plex) today as it was then.

In 1985 the processor of distinction
was the 80286 (and then only at 6 and 8
MHz), The 80286, with its coarse cloek
granularity, made zero-wait-state opera¬
tion relatively straightforward (i.e,, an 8-

MHz 80286 would require a memory ac¬
cess to be complete within 125-
nanosecond clock increments—125 ns,
250 ns, and 375 ns correspond to zero,
one, and two wait states, respectively).

Late in 1986,80386 processor systems
emerged with 16-MHz clock speeds.
Now wait states were measured in incre¬
ments of 62.5 ns, and systems were un¬
able to achieve true zero-wait-state per¬
formance using conventional DRAMs.
Many (somewhat unethical) suppliers,
attempting to boost their 80386 specifi¬
cations, claimed (wrongly) that they
were running zero wait states when in
fact they were running with one or two.
Actually, they were using the 8-MHz
80286 as the yardstick. Their fear was
that if they advertised their machines as

68 Fal 11989 - BYTE IBM Special Edition

THE 80486: A HARDWARE PERSPECTIVE

you are absolutely certain that you will
continue to run primarily DOS, with a
few OS/2 applications mixed in, the
80386SX could be a possible choice.
Like the other members of the 80386
family, the 80386SX has the ability to
simulate EMS 4.0 in extended memory.
No special expanded-memory boards
are required; software does the trick. If
you use programs such as DESQview or
Lotus 1-2-3, this could be justification
for purchasing the 8G386SX as opposed
to a fast 80286 system. But when you
consider that a true 32-bit 80386 system
costs only a few dollars more, the
80386SX is not your best choice.

The true 32-bit 80386 (the DX series)
is available in four flavors: 16-MHz,
20-MHz, 25-MHz, and 33-MHz. Sys¬
tems based on the 16-MHz and 20-MHz
versions of the 80386 series are obvious
winners in the low-end 80386 market¬
place. They offer exceptional value as
compared to the 80386SX at about the
same price. It is reasonable to expect
that, in time, the prices of 25-MHz and
33-MHz chips will drop and that they
will take the place of the slower chips.

It's a given that the 80486 will domi¬
nate the high end of the PC market be¬
cause it has no competitors. If you are
thinking of buying a 25-MHz or 33-
MHz 80386, you should now seriously
consider the 80486 as an option.

Gene Summit is cofounder of Cheetah
International, Inc., in Longview t Texas .
He can be reached on BIXc/o "editors. ”

executing at anything but zero wait
states, the machines would have been
perceived as running slower than a no-
wait-state 8-MHz AT clone.

As Intel improved clock speeds on the
80386, the memory speed demands ex¬
ceeded the capabilities of conventional
DRAM architectures. Following the his¬
tory of mainframes, main-storage
SRAM caches became common in high¬
speed 80386 systems. These high-speed
SRAM caches were able to achieve zero-
wait-state operation most of the time.
Many benchmarks ran as never before,
yet not all applications reflected the im¬
provement indicated by the benchmark.
Why? Well, ignoring applications that
were truly I/O bound, certain applica¬
tions kept thrashing the cache, and the

job of keeping the contents of the fast
SRAM valid fell right back on good old
DRAM.

From table 2 (which represents an op¬
timistic, high-performance implementa¬
tion), it is apparent that many so-called
zero-wait-state systems are reading a dif¬
ferent spec sheet than Inters. Table 3
shows a similar comparison for both the
25- and 33-MHz 80486.

The Burst and the Pipeline

The major memory-access difference be¬
tween the 80386 and 80486 (excluding
the 80486’s on-chip cache) is pipelined
versus burst operation. The 80386 has a
feature called "pipelined access*’ that
was not fully utilized by most systems or
entirely effective in some situations.
Pipelined access presented the address of
the next access—if available and at the
system’s request—so that memory could
have a bead start on that next access. A
good concept, yet it appears that it was
often utilized only to keep the 80386’s
instruction prefetch buffer full. (The in¬
struction prefetch buffer assumed that a
series of linear sequential addresses
would be the next required code and tried
to maintain four words resident within
the chip.) Often this effort proved to be
nothing more than memory busy work,
thus creating the undesired side effect of
keeping the DRAM system in a nonopti¬
ma 1 situation for fast access. Pipelined
memory writes were also hampered by
not having the data until after a pending
read was completed. (The pipelined
write could not proceed until the data
from a preceding pipelined read left the
data bus.) The perfect hurry-up-and-
wait scenario.

Armed with 20/20 hindsight, Intel
saw that the intended function of the
80386’s instruction prefetch buffer was
nothing more than a poor man’s cache.
Put the cache on-chip, chuck the prefetch
mechanism as we know it, and—voila—
instant 80486. As to the pipeline mecha¬
nism, it’s a good concept (maybe pipe¬
lined bursts are to come on the 80586),
yet in the 80386 implementation it still
took two clock cycles per transfer,
whereas the 80486 burst mode takes only
one. To state it simply, the 80486 burst-
transfer mechanism represents a twofold
increase in data transfer rates over the
equivalent 80386 clocked approach.

Burst mode, an old mainframe bus
technique, rightfully assumes that most
of the delay in accessing main storage is
in the connection time to retrieve a spe¬
cific data address. Once the initial access
occurs, adjacent or neighboring data is
readily available without the formal pro¬

Table 1: Pin changes for the

80486. The total of added pins
yields 39—four pins more than
expected—until the defunct 80386
pins are removed.

New feature pins

Parity path

5 pins

Burst transfers

2 pins

AT A20 emulation

1 pin

8'bit bus interface

1 pin

Bus ownership and control

3 pins

New "forced-feature" pins

Cache controller

Spins

Coprocessor

2 pins

New inert pins

Ground

7 pins

Power

4 pins

No-connects

8 pins

Dropped 80366 pins

No pipelining

1 pin

Coprocessor/

CPU interconnect

3 pins

tocol required of the first access. You
may recognize the burst concept under a
different name: nibble mode, video
RAM, page mode, or any block transfer
mechanism. Even disk drives have en¬
dorsed this technique, albeit under the
name "multiple sector transfers.” Mem¬
ory bandwidth is greatly enhanced by
this concept.

A quick calculation of the system’s
memory speed requirements to support
the 80486 burst mode reveals an amaz¬
ingly obvious memory architecture.
Given that the chip has one clock to
transfer data to and from memory and
that the preferred memory device would
be DRAM, how can you utilize the rela¬
tively slow and less expensive DRAM?
Remember, the 80486 already has an on-
chip SRAM cache.

The answer lies in the fact that a key
element of bandwidth is width. Even for
the 33-MHz 80486, true zero-wait-state
burst cycles can be achieved by using
DRAM. This is possible by structuring
the 80486 main memory as 64 bits wide.
The initial access to the memory requires
only one true wait state, while the subse¬
quent accesses are already present. The
third and fourth accesses of the burst
each then utilize the clocked page-mode
mechanism to achieve zero wait states.
The implementation of this approach is
not difficult or unwieldy, and a 60-ns
DRAM array organized in a 64-bit-wide
architecture is capable of achieving a

continued

BYTE IBM Special Edition ■ Fall 1989 69

THE 80486: A HARDWARE PERSPECTIVE

The New Pins on the Block

H ere’s a list of the 80486 proces¬
sor’s new pins. They are catego¬
rized by function, with descriptions of
what they'll mean for upcoming sys¬
tems built around the 80486.

Parity Path

DP0-DP3: The four parity data path
(I/O) pins allow less external logic and
faster memory interface than on the
80386.

/PCHCK: The parity checker output pin
signals a parity error and emulates the
AT memory parity-check function.
Note that the system must decide wheth¬
er to pay attention to this error. For ex¬
ample, RAM on video boards carries no
parity component and so will likely gen¬
erate a parity error that the system can
ignore.

Burst Transfers

/BRDY: The burst-ready input pin indi¬
cates that the current cycle is complete
and that the system will assume data
transfer in the next dock cycle unless
signal /BLAST is presented,

/BLAST: The burst last output signifies
that burst-transfer mode is done.

AT A20 Emulation

/A20M: This input is the address bit 20
mask. When the system asserts /A20M,
address bit A20 from the CPU is forced
low (under 1 megabyte). This function
was previously implemented by the AT
to maintain 8086 compatibility.

8-bit Bus Interface

/BS8: The system board provides the
bus size S bits input signal in response to
a transfer request when the desired sys¬
tem element can execute only 8-bit
transfers. On 80286 and 80386 proces¬

sors this function was handled through
external hardware.

Bus Ownership and Control

BREQ: The bus request output signal
indicates that the CPU needs the ad¬
dress/data bus, BREQ lightens the task
of designing well-behaved multiple-pro¬
cessor systems.

/BOFF: With the back off input, an ex¬
ternal system device (another proces¬
sor, perhaps) can take control of the en¬
tile address/data bus, even within an
active, yet incomplete, cycle.

/PLOCK: Intel defines the pseudotock
output signal as a bus cycle definition.
From a system viewpoint, it appears to
be more of a pseudo-bus-priority bit.
When the processor asserts this signal,
it's saying 4t Don't take the bus away
now; I've transferred only part of the
data I wanted.” This differs from the
/LOCK bit, which typically signifies a
critical read-modify-write operation in
which no other system element can ex¬
amine the item being modified until the
current operation is complete.

Cache Control

/KEN: The system is required to control
the cache enable input through hard¬
ware, In practice, rather than being
used to enable cache, this signal is most
frequently used to disable areas of mem¬
ory that cannot be cached. System im¬
plementations vary, but for most AT
machines, the area of memory between
640K bytes and 1 megabyte should not
be cached because it holds I/O-con¬
trolled and externally swapped data.
Caching it proves futile or disastrous.

AHOLD, /EADS: The address ho Wand
external address strobe inputs allow an

external device to present the 80486
with an address. If that address matches
an address in the 80486's cache, the as¬
sociated data is flagged as invalid. For
an AT single-processor machine, only
direct-memory-access cycles would re¬
quire use of this mechanism. In a multi¬
ple-processor implementation, this in¬
validation would likely occur from
another processor,

/FLUSH: The flush cache input could
be considered the “punt" approach to
cache management. Essentially, it in¬
forms the 80486 that the entire contents
of its cache are invalid. Why would you
need this? Consider one 80486 electron¬
ically switching between two complete¬
ly different memory systems, Each time
the processor switched to a new system,
its entire cache would be invalidated.
With proper management of the other
signals (i.e., /KEN, /EADS, and
AHOLD) this should be a last resort.

PWT, PCD: The page write-through
and page cache-disable output pins re¬
flect bit settings in internal registers.
While /KEN al lows hardware to control
the caching of specific physical regions
of memory, these pins indicate caching
control that software has exerted over
logical memory pages.

Coprocessor

/FERR: The floating-point error output
pin is similar to the 80387's error pin
and is used under certain conditions to
generate interrupt 13 on ATs.

/IGNNE: The ignore numeric processor
error input pin has no effect if not prop¬
erly activated by software. I assume that
this pin will be properly managed by an
unannounced coprocessor. For now,
this an elaborate no-connect.

sustained processor/memory transfer
rate of over 88 megabytes per second in
burst mode.

He re *s how it works on the 80486
using DRAM (organized for a 64-bit¬
wide data bus):

Clock cycle I; The CPU initiates
access.

Clock cycle 2: The memory is not
ready; add a wait state.

Clock cycle 3: Transfer the first

word; assert burst ready to the
80486. Start 64-bit access of the next
page.

Clock cycle 4\ Transfer latched
contents of memory (the second
word); assert burst ready.

Clock cycle 5: Transfer the third
word (paged); assert burst ready.

Clock cycle 6: Transfer the fourth
word (paged); assert burst ready.

Here's how it would play on the 80386

(best case with zero-wait-state cache and
assuming a cache hit):

Clock cycle 1: CPU initiates access.
Clock cycle 2: Memory responds
with the first word.

Clock cycle 3: CPU initiates access.
Clock cycle 4: Memory responds
with the second word.

Clock cycle 5: CPU initiates access.
Clock cycle 6: Memory responds

continued

70 Fall 1989 * B Y T E IBM Special Edition

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Circle 180 on Reader Service Card

THE 80486: A HARDWARE PERSPECTIVE

The BIOS Challenge

Rene Vishney

T he 80486 processor has taken AT
architecture to a new plateau.
Throughout Award Software's develop¬
ment of a BIOS for the Intel 80486 (in
conjunction with Cheetah Internation¬
al), our benchmark tests have shown
performance to be significantly greater
than existing 80386 processor architec¬
tures with a cache controller and math
coprocessor* Benchmark tests will need
to be rewritten to reflect this perfor¬
mance improvement.

An 80386 BIOS will run on current
implementations of the 80486, but with¬
out the 80486 BIOS you won't experi¬
ence the improved performance of the
built-in cache controller and math co-
processor* Using an 80386-style BIOS
on an 80486 would be like using an
80286 BIOS on an 80386 machine. The
critical hardware and relatively minor
software differences between the 80386
and 80486 technologies are the keys to
understanding how the 80486 BIOS can
give users the full benefit of this new
technology.

Not the Same

Intel has incorporated many new fea¬
tures into the 80486 that allow it to sup¬
port multiple processor systems. Other
significant enhancements include an
on-board math coprocessor and an on¬
board cache controller. These additions
will help remove the processor-speed
bottlenecks that are characteristic of cur¬
rent 80386 systems* The associated in¬
creased performance of the 80486 has
proved to be greater than the obvious
combination of an 80386, an 80385 cache
controller, and an 80387 math copro¬
cessor system. To put it tritely, the whole
is greater than the sum of its parts.

Power-on self-test operations have
also been improved in the 80486* The
80486's loop timing allows the entire
POST routine to run faster than on an
80386. Now that the cache is on the pro¬
cessor, the BIOS includes a POST
cache-memory test. The POST math co¬
processor routine is also faster now that
the coprocessor is no longer outside of
the CPU* Award's POST routines flash
the chip's version number on the chip on
the screen, making life easier for field
service technicians and system de¬
velopers*

Timing Is Everything
Since the last IBM PC AT 8-MHz up¬
date, 80286/80386 processor speeds
have doubled and tripled. Using timing
loops that depend on processor speed
has been invalid for several years*
You've got to use other methods within
the AT architecture to find a reliable
real-time base. Two such methods are
available on the 80486. The first utilizes
a refresh timer that can reliably return
30-microsecond time bases. Award's
80486 BIOS uses this method for the
liming of "slow" devices such as f loppy
disk drives and hard disk drives.

The second method involves timing
between accesses of external chips to
the processor, such as the direct-mem¬
ory-access controller and the interrupt
controller (i.e, t the CPU has to wait a
few clock cycles for a peripheral chip to
become ready). Timings of this sort re¬
quire delays of several microseconds.
The only time base available is through
executing CPU instructions that con¬
sume a known number of cycles. Cache
controllers for the 80386 have caused
some problems in this area as guaran¬
teed times for instruction fetches have
been reduced. There are several nonde¬
structive instructions that you can use to
"spin the wheels." By experimenting,
we found that we could use more or less
the same delay instructions on the
80486 that we used on the 80386, even
at the greater speeds*

Minor Software Differences
In terms of software, even at the BIOS
and operating-system level, there are
Few differences between an 80386 and
an 80486. These differences will re¬
quire changes at the system level but
should not affect upward migrations of
80386 applications to the 80486.

The software differences involve the
on-chip math coprocessor and the cache
controller. Some flags used to interact
with the math coprocessor in protected
mode behave differently. Intel has also
added new instructions to control the
initialization of the internal cache. The
only functional effects on the BIOS are
differences in initialization. For exam¬
ple, a previously nonfatal error in co¬
processor initialization becomes a fatal
processor error.

Protected-mode operating systems or
applications will need to change meth¬
ods for trapping coprocessor instruc¬
tions. Such changes will be well worth
the effort; initial benchmarks have
shown an order of magnitude of im¬
provement in the performance of float¬
ing-point instructions. Most packages
on the market now are conservative in
their use of floating-point instructions,
even in applications that double in per¬
formance with a coprocessor. Most
standard systems do not contain a co¬
processor for cost reasons* Developers
simply cannot afford to write applica¬
tions for only 10 percent of the potential
market. The bulk of the compiled code
still uses floating-point emulation.

For example, C's floor() function,
commonly used in comparisons, can
use floating-point libraries. This type
of code would normally compile with
emulation; a true coprocessor would be
restricted to more time-critical areas.
However, because the 80486 guarantees
the availability of a floating-point co¬
processor, applications can be packaged
with all sections of the code utilizing
floating-point, which will provide
greater overall performance.

Intel is encouraging a joint effort to
develop a standard method for software
applications (primarily operating sys¬
tems) to identify the processor type and
revision of the 80486. The intent is to
begin planning for future extensions to
the processor family* If these efforts be¬
come a standard, they will also be appli¬
cable to the 80386 architectures already
in the field with the appropriate BIOS
changes. In fact, the 80486 will require
BIOS products to evolve to provide a sta¬
ble platform for software in this market.

Wide Open

The 80486 processor will open up many
new possibilities in hardware design.

The work on fully utilizing the 80486
through the BIOS has only begun. BIOS
products for it will constantly be up¬
dated, upgraded, and introduced as new
capabilities become available through¬
out the 1990s.

Rene Vishney is president of Award Soft¬
ware , Inc ., in Los Gatos, California. He
can be reached on BIX do “editors ."

72 Fall 1989 * BYTE IBM Special Edition

THE 80486: A HARDWARE PERSPECTIVE

Table 2: The 80386 zero-wait-state comparison (nonpipelined read). All times
are in nanoseconds. Alt CPU timings are from the Intel 1989 Microprocessor
and Peripheral Handbook, vol. 1 (Intel Corp, f 1989).

CPU speed

16 MHz

20 MHz

25 MHz

33 MHz

Zero wait-state
access budget

125

100

Address valid delay
{from CPU)

-36

-30

-21

-5

Address buffers
{CPU to memory)

-6.5

Data buffers

-4.5

Data setup
to CPU

-11

-7

-5

Remaining time
for zero-wait-state
memory device

Remaining time
for one-wait-
state memory
device

129.5

Remaining time
for two-wait-state
memory device

192

145

120

Table 3: The 80486 zero-wait-state comparison {nonburst-mode read). All
times are in nanoseconds.

CPU speed

25 MHz

33 MHz

Zero-wart-state access budget

Address valid delay (from CPU)

— 22

-19

Address buffers {CPU to memory)

-6.5

Data buffers

-4.5

Data setup to CPU

-5

Remaining time for
zero-wait-state memory device

Remaining time

for one-wait-state memory device

Remaining time for
two-wait-state memory device

124

with the third word.

Clock cycle 7: CPU initiates access.
Clock cycle 8: Memory responds
with the fourth word*

You should realize that the above com¬
parison shows the 80386 in its very best
light. Also, the 80486 has an on-chip
cache that frequently relegates the main
memory to the chore of efficiently filling
the on-chip cache—a chore well-per¬
formed by the burst-transfer mechanism
of the 80486.

The use of a 64-bit-wide DRAM archi-
tecture does present some challenges to a
system's minimum memory configura¬
tion. For example, implementing this ap¬
proach with 1 megabit x 1 DRAMs
would require 72 devices, yielding a total
of 8 megabytes minimum of system
memory* Each expansion to this ap¬
proach would also be in 8-megabyte in¬
crements* Using 256K x 4 DRAMs
solves the memory granularity problem
for this 64-bit architecture but compli¬
cates the parity data path by requiring
the inefficient use of 1 megabit x 1
DRAMs or the mixing of current-tech¬
nology (256K-bit x 4) with older-tech-
nology (256K-bit x 1) DRAMs (i*e.,
you would need one 256K-bit x 1
DR AM—parity—for each pair of 256K-
bit x 4 DRAMs). Furthermore, many
currently available high-density single
in-line memory modules (SIMMs) do not
provide for the mixing of DRAM tech¬
nologies. These obstacles are not actu¬
ally technical problems, but they do pre¬
sent a real conflict in attaining minimum
system costs while achieving highest sys-
tern performance.

Problems Solved

Writing parity-checked data to main
memory on 80386 systems has always
been trouble, because the fastest you
could generate the parity checkbit was 17
ns after you were presented with valid
data from the CPU. This wreaked havoc
with control logic because it alone repre¬
sents half a wait state for a 33-MHz sys¬
tem* Should you complicate the control
of the parity data bit during writes by
treating it separately? Or should you pe¬
nalize read access time to accommodate
the write constraint?

Happily, Intel's engineers plugged
this hole on the 80486 by adding a parity
path. Now when all data bits are valid on
the data bus, that includes the parity bits.
Thank you, Intel.

The 80386 still bears the scars of the
8086's migration upward through the
80286* One particularly visible injury
was Intel's handling of address bit A2Q.

In the 8086 world, no address could go
beyond 1 megabyte (there was no address
line A20)* Computed addresses beyond
the 1-megabyte limit would “wrap back"
into low-order memory. IBM's AT de¬
signers rightfully maintained that com¬
patibility through the 80286. They ac¬
complished this by masking off
(jamming inactive) the address A20 line
through a control spigot from the key¬
board controller chip.

Brilliant, right? Not quite. Remember
the zero-wait-state calculations in table
2? Well, those figures don't compensate
for a slow address line A20. So hardware
designers were expected to insert a logic

level (an additional delay) within the sys¬
tem to perform this task. The result is
that when an address is asserted on the
address bus, every line except A20 be¬
comes valid in a specified time. Thus,
for the memory speed requirement to
achieve the zero wait states shown in
table 2, you must subtract a good 7 ns.
That's a 10 percent slowdown to a 70-ns
memory*

Fortunately, Intel engineers came to
the 80486*s rescue again. They've added
a line into the chip that, when active,
tells the chip to operate its A20 line to
emulate the action of the AT's A20 line.

continued

B Y T E IBM Special Edition

Fall 1989 73

THE 80486: A HARDWARE PERSPECTIVE

No major logic here, but a major perfor¬
mance boost. It’s obvious that the semi¬
conductor group at Intel had an excellent
system mouthpiece (their board group?
IBM? other users?) to champion this
cause. Bravo!

What They Missed

The 80486 contains so many great sys¬
tem features that to criticize any part of it
seems almost blasphemous. My personal
gripes with the chip are relatively minor
at 25 MHz but become substantial when
you extrapolate operation at 40 and 60
MHz. I base these opinions not on RISC
versus CISC issues, but on the more fun¬
damental issues of the physics of elec¬
tronics.

System implementers have had their
hands full “managing" a common I/O
bus at 33 MHz. The difficulty lies in
avoiding bus contention. Data travels
along the bus from a source to a destina¬
tion (memory to CPU or vice versa), and
bus contention occurs when—in the pro¬
cess of switching from one source to an¬
other—two sources are present on the bus
simultaneously. To the layman, I can
best describe this as a brief short circuit.

processor clock speeds
increase, the physical
properties of electronics
remain the same.

To the engineer, this presents reliability
and manufacturing problems if not given
proper attention.

The problem is exacerbated as system-
memory speeds increase. Given the elec¬
tronics components currently available to
system designers, the quickest they can
turn off or “shut up" a bus source from
driving a common bus is about 11 ns.
This suggests that, in theory, ultimate
usable processor speed is limited to 45
MHz. And even as processor clock
speeds continue to increase, the basic
physical properties of electronics aren’t
going to change. As useful as common

data I/O bus 80486 is (if you consider
multiple 80486 systems), it is not a desir¬
able architecture in a 60-MHz single¬
processor implementation.

The solution? Separate the data lines
on the CPU into DATA OUT and DATA
IN. (Hey, at $1000 a chip, what do a few
more pins cost?)

The 80486 represents a logical growth
of the PC-compatible standard. That says
a lot. The large base of applications soft¬
ware that has been established for the
80x86 is unparalleled in computing’s
short history. The 80486 promises to be a
major commitment by Intel to software
development maturation and stability.
The job of hardware is to provide the reli¬
able vehicle to maintain and enhance this
desirable goal.

All CPU timings for the 80386 come
from Intel’s 1989 Microprocessor and
Peripheral Handbook , vol. 1. All CPU
timings for the 80486 are from Intel’s
manual, 80486 Microprocessor, April
1989 (#240440-001). ■

Ron Sartore is cofounder of Cheetah In¬
ternational, Inc., in Longview, Texas.
He can be reached on BIX c/o “ editors. ”

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The Era of the
Personal Workstation

W hen in 1981 the first personal com¬
puter from IBM was introduced to
the market, no expert predicted it’s suc¬
cess. After only one year, this computer
set a new standard, the PC standard. Of
course, there were other computers, like
the Apple II. Some of these computers
were faster and more reliable than the
IBM PC. But the standard was set by this
machine. And it was set by the users,
who bought this computer and deman¬
ded applications, programs, peripherals
and services. A whole industry grew up
with this one machine. The personal
computers of today are the great-grand¬
children of this little computer. One can
find it’s roots in nearly every personal
computer that works with MS-DOS.
When the IBM PC was introduced, it
worked with MS-DOS, too. It was MS-
DOS 1.1, the first release. And it became
standard as an operating system, just like
the PC became standard as THE perso¬
nal computer.

The technology today is far more ad¬
vanced than it used to be in 1981. This an
effect of the tremendous market power,
which was unleashed by the PC stan¬
dard. But know, the great history of this
standard has become a burden, it slows
down any development in this industry,
which is bound to be ’’compatible”. To¬
days microprocessors have more proces¬
sing power than the big mainframe com¬
puters in 1981. But they use only 5-10
percent of their real abilities for the
users, because of the existing industry
standards. We at Bauer Systems think
it’s time for a new standard, it’s time for
the PERSONAL WORKSTATION!

Stop! This is not a break with the re¬
ported history of computers. It’s a break
with compromises, which were made to
have the highest grade of compatibility.
We have found a way to have the best of
both sides: Unforeseen processing po¬
wer and user friendliness and compatibi¬
lity with existing industry standards. We
cannot promise that your most beloved
word processor will run on our new ma¬
chine, and we cannot promise either that
your beloved screen will work with our
machine. But we can promise you that if
you ever try our new system, you will not
try another existing computer again.

The TESS IV PERSONAL WORK¬
STATION is based on the Intel i486 mic¬
roprocessor. This microprocessor com¬
bines the features of the 80386 micropro¬
cessor and the 80387 arithmetic copro¬
cessor together with a sophisticated ca¬
che management unit on one chip. The
i486 microprocessor has a raw proces¬
sing power of 14-15 MIPS. In the TESS
IV PERSONAL WORKSTATION, this
microprocessor is combined with 8 Me¬
gabyte of 70 ns dynamic random access
memory. The system has a clock rate of
25 MHz. Early benchmarks indicated a
processing power of 12 MIPS for the
whole system. We developed a configu¬
ration for this system, which represents
the best combination of available op¬
tions. The TESS IV PERSONAL
WORKSTATION is equipped with our
i486-computer. We chose a SCSI host
adapter as storage interface. In the stan¬
dard configuration, one 200 megabyte
hard disk drive and one 3.5 W Floptical
disk drive are connected to the host
adapter. It offers a sustained data trans¬
fer rate of 1 megabyte per second and it
can handle up to seven SCSI devices.
The hard disk drive has an access time of
16 ms. The Floptical disk drive is a new¬
ly developed 3.5“ floppy disk drive that is
able to store up to 20.8 megabyte of data
on a 3.5“ Floptical diskette. It can also
format, write an read standard 3.5“ dis¬
kettes in the PS/2 formats. The Floptical
disk drive has an access time of 65 ms.
The graphics subsystem of our TESS IV
PERSONAL WORKSTATION contains
it’s own Texas Instruments TI34010 gra¬
phics processor, clocked at 40 MHz. At
this clock rate, the TMS 34010 has a pro¬
cessing power of 6 MIPS. The processor
is combined with 1 megabyte VRAM for
a maximum screen resolution of 1024 x
768 pixels in 256 out of 262.144 colors.
Our display features a 21“ flat-type sc¬
reen offering the user an optimal vie¬
wing area. The etched, non-glare 0.31
mm dot pitch CRT allows for brilliant
FULLSCREEN graphics and text. A
built-in dynamic focus circuit provides
crisp images on-screen. The keyboard of
our TESS IV PERSONAL WORKSTA¬
TION is connected to the screen and
contains a standard 102 keys AT-layout.
A 3-key mouse is connected to the key¬
board as the standard pointing device.

The TESS IV PERSONAL WORK¬
STATION is equipped with four serial
and two parallel external interfaces. It
can be expanded by plug-in expansion
cards compatible to the ISA-bus interfa¬
ce. The complete system exept the desk¬
top devices is mounted in a trim deskside
tower case in a unique design. It is powe¬
red by a 300 W switching power supply
with build-in battery backup and surge
protection.

To unleash the full processing power
of the i486 microprocessor, we chose the
newly developed Open Desktop from
SCO as operating system. Open Desktop
features the full 32-bit, multiuser, multi¬
tasking capabilities of the UNIX System,
a graphical user interface offering Pre¬
sentation Manager-compatible ”look
and feel”, the industry-standard X Win¬
dow System, SQL database manage¬
ment, TCP/IP networking to dissimilar
systems, full data sharing between DOS
and UNIX Systems, and instant access to
thousands of existing DOS and UNIX
System applications. Open Desktop deli¬
vers the multitasking computing power,
friendly graphical interface, and seam¬
less connectivity required for today’s de¬
manding business and technical profes¬
sionals who require dedicated personal
productivity systems. And it’s equally
well-suited as a multiuser, multitasking
platform for workgroups of 8, 16, 32 or
even more users.

To meet the high standards we set
ourselves by designing this computer,
we developed a sophisticated distribu¬
tion and service system. The TESS IV
PERSONAL WORKSTATION will be
distributed by the microtronics Trade
Service through field consultants. Your
computer will be set up at your site and
configured to your demands. The micro¬
tronics Trade Service will provide world¬
wide on-site service for one year. If your
system can’t be repaired on-site, you will
receive a equal replacement for the re¬
pair time.

To receive more information or to
purchase your TESS IV PERSONAL
WORKSTATION, please contact the
microtronics Trade Service. We hope
you will be with us in the era of the per¬
sonal workstation!

microtronics Trade Service, Bettendorfer Str. 36, 5173 Siersdorf, Federal Republic of Germany, phone +49-2464-2147,

fax: +49-2464-8280

All trademarks used in this advertisement are property of the respective companies.

All information contained herein is subject to change without prior notice.

Circle 184 on Reader Service Card

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The ViVa24 Modem knocks 'em dead with style and convenience.

The ViVa24 modem represents innovation from its foot¬
print up with features such as: use of the Hayes "AT" com¬
mand set, asynchronous data format, auto-dialing, auto
answer, adaptive equalization, non-volatile memory, auto¬
matic tone and pulse dialing, remote access while your
computer is unattended, self-test and built-in diagnostics.
Best, of all, the ViVa24 is fully backed with a five-year
limited warranty.

Finally! An affordable, siate-of-the art
modem designed to maximize any work
station or desktop and take up minimal
space. The new 2400 baud modem from
Computer Peripherals, Inc. is a 100%
Hayes compatable external modem
which boasts more high-tech features than its competition
at an unbelievable price tag. ^

The compact, distinctively sleek tower design simplifies
placement, and it’s easily accessible, front panel power
switch eliminates fumbling around the back of the unit
The handsome weighted base holds the ViVa24 firmly in
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fortable viewing, utilizing international graphic icons that
make theViVa24 simple to understand, q

The small tower design creates a natural flow of air over
the surface of the board, allowing the ViVa24 to run cooler
and affording you 24-hour, worry-free operation. The
Viva24 modem provides the user compatability with IBM
PC, XT, AT, IBM PS/2, Apple Macintosh computers and any
computer that supports RS-232C.

Before investing in an ordinary modem, be sure to
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Trademarks: IBM, International Business Machines, Corp.; Hayes Microcomputer Products; Apple Macintosh; High Fidelity, Computer Peripherals, Inc.

Circle 63 on Reader Service Card

IBM SPECIAL ISSUE

Stretching DOS
to the Limit

VCPI brings order to DOS multitaskers, DOS extenders,

and EMS emulators

Frank Hayes

wo years ago, OS/2
sounded like a dream
come true. No more ap¬
plications that had to
squeeze into 640K bytes;
no more overlays; no more cobbling to¬
gether collections of TSR programs and
utilities to create a useful work environ¬
ment. With OS/2 running on an 80386-
based PC, programs could be as large as
necessary—and you would be
able to run as many as you
needed, concurrently.

But OS/2 hasn't yet deliv¬
ered on its promises. Two
years later, we're still waiting
for OS/2 for the 80386, and
we're still waiting for applica¬
tions software that will turn
the current 80286-based OS/2
from a great idea into a great
operating system. Once that
software does arrive—and it
should be checking in over the
next six months or so—OS/2
will become a contender.

But if OS/2 hasn't already
generated the applications it
needs to become a best-seller,
it has intensified demand for
its features: big programs and
multitasking. Software pub¬
lishers have responded by of¬
fering multitasking systems,

DOS extenders, and EMS em¬
ulators that enable DOS pro¬
grams to tap the full power—

and full memory—of 80386-based PCs.
Until now, though, these have largely
been independent, ad hoc solutions; for
example, there has been no guarantee
that a program using a DOS extender
would run under a multitasker.

Enter VCPI

In late 1987, six companies—including
Phar Lap (386|DOS-Extender), Quar¬

terdeck (DESQview), and Qualitas
(386Max)—set out to agree on a standard
that, they hoped, would create some
order out of the burgeoning chaos of ad
hoc solutions. The result, several drafts
later, is the Virtual Control Program In¬
terface, or VCPI.

VCPI isn’t a program. In fact, it isn’t
even the outline for a program. It's just
the specification for how a VCPI-com-
patible program should be¬
have. But it isn't vaporware,
either: Lotus has joined the
original members of the VCPI
committee, and all the mem¬
bers are busy making their
software conform to the VCPI
specifications. And applica¬
tions developers using VCPI
DOS extenders and multi-
taskers are also aiming for
VCPI compatibility.

VCPI is designed to solve
two main problems that show
up when several 80386-aware
programs run at the same
time: conflicts over the use of
extended memory, and con¬
flicts over which one of sev¬
eral programs is in charge.

The original six sponsors
of the VCPI were A.L Archi¬
tects, Phar Lap Software,
Quadram, Qualitas, Quarter¬
deck Office Systems, and Ra¬
tional Systems. The original
continued

BYTE IBM Special Edition ■ Fall 1989 79

STRETCHING DOS TO THE LIMIT

ChiWriter

Powerful Scientific/Multifont Word
Processing at a Reasonable Price

How are you currently producing your scientific
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From an actual ChiWriter screen display

ChiWriter is a complete word processor, designed
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Its features include: intuitive formula editing com¬
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Best of all, ChiWriter is completely “what-you-see-
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ChiWriter runs on IBM PC compatibles with 2 flop¬
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horstmann

specification was developed by Phar Lap
and Quarterdeck and was published in
December 1987. A more detailed and ex¬
plicit revision of the spec was drafted in
March of this year for the April VCPI
Developer’s Conference. At that confer¬
ence, Lotus Development added its name
to the list of sponsors, and Compaq and
Intel were among the observers. The
specification went through two more re¬
visions before the final version was ap¬
proved in June.

The complete VCPI specification is
available from Phar Lap Software, Inc.,
60 Aberdeen Ave., Cambridge, MA
02138,(617)661-1510.

Who’s the Boss?

Unlike real multitasking operating sys¬
tems, such as Unix or OS/2, DOS is de¬
signed for one user running one applica¬
tion program. As a result, from its
earliest days, a DOS program was tradi¬
tionally written with the assumption that
it was the only car on the road. That was
fine when it was true. But as soon as
users began adding pop-up TSR utilities,
each application program found itself
sharing memory with other programs. If
the programs didn’t all follow the rules
(or at least cheat in regular, predictable
ways) conflicts were sure to arise.

The same problem, only magnified,
appears when a multitasker tries to
squeeze several full-scale application
programs into memory at the same time.
That’s cheating the limits of DOS, and if
all the programs don’t cheat predictably,
they’ll step on each other’s toes.

Fortunately, the 80386 CPU features
two modes—protected and virtual
8086—that can alleviate some of these
problems. In protected mode, software
has full access to all the capabilities of
the 80386, including all its most power¬
ful instructions and the entire 4 giga¬
bytes of memory that can potentially be
stuffed into an 80386-based PC. Once
the CPU is in protected mode, it can
switch into virtual 8086 (or V86) mode.
When software runs in V86 mode, the
CPU and memory act as if they’re run¬
ning on an 8086 with its own 1 -megabyte
(or less) cohort of memory—hence the
name “virtual 8086.”

But although a program runs in V86
mode as if it’s in a single chunk of mem¬
ory, it may actually be split up all over
the 80386’s available memory in small¬
er, 4096-byte pieces. Moreover, al¬
though the CPU appears to act like an or¬
dinary 8086, there are some instructions
that can’t be used in V86 mode. When
the CPU encounters one of those instruc¬
tions, it generates an exception, which

returns the processor to protected mode.

Protected and V86 modes greatly sim¬
plify multitasking on an 80386. Each or¬
dinary DOS application can run in V86
mode as if it had its own CPU and mem¬
ory; the multitasker itself, which switch¬
es among the different applications, runs
in protected mode, handling exceptions
and generally directing traffic.

If all the programs running under a
multitasker are ordinary DOS applica¬
tions, this arrangement works fine—the
multitasker is the unquestioned boss,
running in protected mode. But multi¬
taskers aren’t the only programs that use
the 80386’s protected mode. Programs
built with DOS extenders use it, too.

A DOS extender creates a run-time en¬
vironment that lets a program run under
DOS but still use the more powerful ca¬
pabilities of the 80386. Since DOS
doesn’t run in protected mode (where the
real power lies), a DOS-extended pro¬
gram starts out running in V86 mode.
But when it’s time to kick into high gear,
the V86 program calls the DOS extend¬
er, which jumps into protected mode to
access large amounts of memory or to ex¬
ecute specialized instructions.

There’s also a third category of pro¬
grams that use protected and V86
modes: EMS emulators. An EMS driver
lets a DOS program swap blocks of mem¬
ory into and out of the memory-address
space above the DOS 640K-byte limit but
still below the 1-megabyte limit of the
8086 CPU. The original EMS memory
boards worked with any PC or XT; sev¬
eral extra megabytes of memory could be
swapped in and out, so a program could
get fast access to lots of extra space for
data or program overlays. An EMS emu¬
lator uses the same set of protocols, but,
instead of using memory on a separate
board, it uses the 80386’s own memory
above the 1-megabyte limit. Once again,
the DOS program runs in V86 mode;
when it calls the EMS driver, the CPU
kicks into protected mode so the driver
can access the extra memory.

Each of these kinds of “control pro¬
grams’’—multitaskers, DOS extenders,
and EMS emulators—needs to switch
back and forth between protected and
V86 modes. However, the 80386 is de¬
signed so that only one protected-mode
program will handle the exceptions gen¬
erated by V86-mode applications. That
means that if you try to use them all to¬
gether—say, an EMS emulator with a
multitasker that’s running one or more
DOS-extended programs—only one con¬
trol program can use protected mode; the
others must use V86 mode. But, as I’ve

continued

80 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

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STRETCHING DOS TO THE LIMIT

Extended-Memory Allocation Techniques

T he three techniques that VCPI al¬
lows for allocating extended mem¬
ory—the memory above the 1-megabyte
address boundary—are EMS alloca¬
tion, top-down allocation, and bottom-
up allocation. Using EMS memory is
the easiest of the three; it involves noth¬
ing more than requesting pages of mem¬
ory through the standard EMS 4.0 inter¬
face. Using EMS memory has another
advantage for DOS-based applications;
even if an application isn’t running on
an 80286- or 80386-based PC, it can
still use EMS memory if an EMS mem¬
ory card is installed.

Both top-down and bottom-up alloca¬
tions depend first on knowing how
much extended memory is available.
That information is available from the
BIOS extended-memory-size system
call (Int 15h, function 88 hexadecimal).
This function returns the amount of ex¬
tended memory in K bytes. It’s a simple
matter to convert that number into the
highest address occupied by extended
memory: You shift the value left 10
times to multiply by 1024 and then add
lOOOOOh (1 megabyte). If function 88h
of Int 15h returns 0, that means there’s
no extended memory in the system.

Top-down memory allocation is
straightforward; it only requires lower
ing the memory ceiling, as indicated by
the result of the extended-memory-size
call. To do this, a program installs a
new interrupt handler for Int 15h, one
that passes all functions except 88h and
returns a new, lower value for that func¬
tion. Thus, in a multitasking situation,
any other program that wants to allocate
extended memory from the top down
will first make its own call to Int 15h
function 88h—and carve off its chunk of
memory beginning where the first pro¬
gram’s chunk left off.

Bottom-up allocation, by contrast,
uses the technique that was originally
used in IBM’s VDISK driver for the AT.
VDISK allocated memory for a RAM
disk by installing a new interrupt han¬
dler for the PC reboot interrupt, Int
19h. A signature block and an alloca¬
tion-size marker go in the interrupt han¬
dler, and a boot block with an alloca¬
tion-size marker goes at the 1 -megabyte
boundary. Whether or not the bottom of
extended memory has been carved off
by VDISK or a similar program, it’s
possible to raise the floor still further
by installing another interrupt handler

and a new set of signature blocks and al¬
location-size markers.

If this sounds more complicated than
top-down allocation, it is. Unfortunate¬
ly, the process has to be more complex
than it should be. It’s necessary to
check both the boot block and the inter¬
rupt handler for the size of the memory
that’s already been allocated, since
some functions (such as the DOS 3.3
PRINT function) will wipe out some of
the allocation information in one of the
two locations. Still, it’s possible to do;
from the Int 19h vector, you can trace a
24-bit value that points to the first free
byte of extended memory, and you can
get the same value from the boot block
at offset lEh, which is the address in K
bytes; shifting it left 10 times gives the
actual address.

By installing interrupt handlers and
allocation-size markers, each program
in memory can allocate as much avail¬
able extended memory as it needs with¬
out interfering with other programs’ al¬
locations. However, once memory has
been allocated, it cannot safely be deal¬
located and the original interrupt han¬
dlers restored until all programs are fin¬
ished using extended memory.

shown, they all need to be in protected
mode—or, at least, they need a way to let
each control program use protected
mode. That’s where VCPI comes in.

Sharing Extended Memory

A second problem that can show up once
an EMS emulator and several DOS ex¬
tenders have been stuffed into memory
together is that they may all want to use
parts of extended memory (i.e., memory
above the 1-megabyte boundary).

There are four basic ways for a pro¬
gram to make use of extended memory.
One is to simply use it, no questions
asked—but that almost guarantees prob¬
lems when more than one program is in
memory at once.

Two other standard techniques treat
extended memory as a big chunk of
memory from which a piece can be
carved off either the top or the bottom
end: top-down and bottom-up extended
memory allocation, respectively. Both of
these techniques require the program¬
mer to install a new interrupt handler for
an operating-system function. In the case
of top-down allocation, which lowers the

extended-memory ceiling, it’s the BIOS
extended-memory-size system call (Int
15h, function 88 hexadecimal). In the
case of bottom-up allocation, which
raises the extended-memory floor, it’s
the PC reboot interrupt (Int 19h). Be¬
cause all programs in memory share
these interrupts, each one can, in turn,
carve a chunk off the top or the bottom of
extended memory without interfering
with the other programs. (See the text
box “Extended-Memory Allocation
Techniques’’ above.)

There’s one other common technique
for allocating extended memory—an
EMS emulator, which uses top-down al¬
location to acquire a block of extended
memory and then parcels out sections of
it through the standard EMS interface.
Since there’s only one EMS emulator in
memory, it’s also shared by all the pro¬
grams that want to use it; thus, programs
won’t unintentionally interfere with each
other if they get their memory through
the EMS emulator.

VCPI allows programs to use extended
memory through top-down or bottom-up
allocation, or through the EMS emula¬

tor. The EMS emulator typically plays
the most crucial role, because it handles
VCPI functions.

How VCPI Does It

Table 1 lists the VCPI functions that an
application program can call while it’s
running in V86 mode. Each function is
called through the EMS interrupt (Int
67h), using a function call that’s illegal
for an ordinary (non-VCPI) EMS emula¬
tor. The VCPI function calls allow each
application to switch to protected mode
and determine EMS and extended mem¬
ory availability (as well as get access to
certain 80386 registers and interrupt
controller information). Table 2 lists the
VCPI functions available to applications
once they are in protected mode.

How does it typically work? When
DOS boots up, it installs an EMS driver
whose name is in the CONFIG.SYS file.
That EMS emulator—called the “VCPI
server’’—will handle all VCPI func¬
tions. A user can then run a DOS-ex¬
tended application—or a multitasker,
which in turn will run regular or DOS-

continued

82 Fall 1989

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STRETCHING DOS TO THE LIMIT

Table 1: The V86-mode interface is provided through the EMS interrupt (Int
67h), with a function code ofDEh in the AH register and a VCPl function code
in register AL. The function calls allow an application to switch to protected
mode, determine availability of and allocate EMS and extended memory, and
get access to 80386 debug registers and interrupt controller information .

THE VCPl VIRTUAL 8086-MODE INTERFACE
Subfunction Purpose

00h: VCPl Presence Detection
01 h: Get Protected Mode Interface
02h: Get Maximum Physical Memory
Address

03h: Get Number of Free 4K Pages

04h: Allocate a 4K Page
05h: Free a 4K Page

06h: Get Physical Address of 4K Page in
First Megabyte

G7h: Read CRO

08h: Read Debug Registers

09h: Load Debug Registers

GAh: Get 8259A Interrupt Vector
Mappings

OBh: Set 8259A Interrupt Vector
Mappings

OCh; Switch from V86 Mode to Protected
Mode

Checks for the presence of VCPl.

Sets up the client's page table.

Initializes client’s memory management
data structures.

Returns the total number of 4K-byte
pages available to be allocated out of the
server’s EMS memory pool.

Allocates a 4K-byte page of memory.
Frees a page of memory previously
allocated with subfunction 04h.

Returns the physical address of a 4K-byte
page in the first megabyte of the V86-
mode linear address space.

Returns the current value of the CRO
register.

Stores the values of the debug registers
into an array in memory.

Loads the debug registers with the values
in the array.

Returns the interrupt vectors that will be
generated by the 8259A interrupt
controller when a hardware interrupt
occurs.

Used by the client to inform the server if it
remaps the 8259A interrupt controllers.
Switches CPU to protected mode, sets up
all system tables for the client, and
transfers control to the specified entry
point in the client.

Table 2: The protected-mode interface is a FAR entry point in the EMS
emulator. The address of the entry point is obtained during initialization with
the Get Protected Mode Interface system call {Int 67h t function DEh, VCPl
function Oik). Art application running in protected mode makes a FAR call to a
USE32 segment t with an EMS function code ofDEh in register AH and a VCPl
function code in register AL.

THE VCPl PROTECTED MODE INTERFACE
Subfunction Purpose

03h: Get Number of Free 4K Pages

04h: Allocate a 4K Page
05h: Free a 4K Page

OCh: Switch from Protected Mode to V86
Mode

Returns the total number of 4K-byte
pages available to be allocated out of the
server s EMS memory pool.

Allocates a 4K-byte page of memory.
Frees a page of memory previously
allocated with subfunction Q4h.

Switches CPU from protected mode back
to V86 mode after setting up all the
server s system tables.

extended applications.

Each application can make use of EMS
memory and VCPl functions once it
knows for sure that they're available.
That requires a series of checks: First,
the program checks to see if the CPU is
an 80386; if so, the program looks for an
EMS emulator; if it's there, the program
turns the EMS emulator on by allocating
one EMS page, putting the CPU into V86
mode; finally, the program uses VCPl
function 0 to test whether VCPl is avail¬
able through the EMS driver.

From that point on, the application can
deal with extended memory and jump
into protected mode through VCPl calls
while still enjoying the advantages of
running under DOS. (Of course, if the
EMS driver doesn’t support VCPl, the
program will have to make its own ar¬
rangements for protected mode and ex¬
tended-memory support,)

Of course, VCPl does require a cer¬
tain amount of extra work on the part of
each control program. For example,
each control program must maintain its
own set of system tables, which it shares
with the VCPl server. Also, the control
programs—and applic at ions—must al¬
ways use VCPl to switch into protected
mode and then back to V86 mode.

What Hath Not OS/2 Wrought?

Is VCPl a replacement for OS/2? Not
really. VCPl isn't a multitasking operat¬
ing system with all the trimmings—it's
really just a kludge that reduces a bit of
the anarchy that was bound to arise when
single-tasking, 64GK-byte-bound DOS
came face-to-face with a demand for
multitasking and big applications. From
that point of view, VCPl is just an attempt
to stretch DOS's life out a little longer.

But if it’s a kludge, it’s a critically
needed one. And right now, VCPl has
two big advantages over OS/2. First,
multitaskers and DOS extenders that use
the VCPl are available today. They run
DOS applications that are tried and
tested, and they’re the same familiar
DOS programs that have been used for
years—without the likelihood of new
bugs or changes that could creep in dur¬
ing a rewrite to run under OS/2.

Just as important, you need at least 4
megabytes of RAM to do anything sub¬
stantial under OS/2. VCPl doesn’t re¬
quire that much memory. In that respect,
VCPl may be the perfect answer for users
who already have an 80386-based PC
and need to tap more of its power—but
can’t afford the cost of OS/2. ■

Frank Hayes is a BYTE news editor . He
can be reached on BIX as 'frankhayes. "

84 Fall 1989 ■ B Y T E IBM Special Edition

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IBM SPECIAL ISSUE

The State
of OS/2

OS/2, longer in ascendancy than planned,
has a very bright future

MarkJ. Minasi

programs for it, and only 400 programs
are currently available.

Huh?

Yes, we all read that “OS/2's not going
to make it” stuff in the trade press. But,
then, the trade press needs
something to write about.

OS/2 is actually not doing
badly, all things considered.

First, I'll give a little histori¬
cal perspective, and then I'll
look at what's out there for
OS/2 now. What can develop¬
ers do in building OS/2 appli¬
cations that they couldn't do
under DOS, and are they
doing those things? Also, I'll
look at a few examples of
unique OS/2 applications.

Looking Back at DOS

Examining the history of
DOS in the same way that
OS/2 has been scrutinized
would lead you to conclude
that DOS is a real flop. As of
early June, 400 OS/2 applica¬
tions were shipping—not
DOS programs that can run in
the DOS-mode session, but
protec ted-mode OS/2 pro¬
grams. By the time you read

The 1982 IBM PC Product Guide
sports full-page ads from the big ven¬
dors, Corvus, of course, was the only
company offering hard disk drives for the
PC. Ashton-Tate was offering to “make
your micro work like a mainframe” with
dBASE II. A lot of game programs.
Some snappy ads for a new kind of pro¬
gram, called Context MBA, that incor¬
porated spreadsheet, database, and
graphics all under one roof.
Lotus 1-2-3 wasn't to appear
for a year yet. Excluding
games, 600 programs were
available for the IBM PC one
year after its release. Of the
600, nearly a third were for
program development—com¬
pilers, utilities, and libraries,
BYTE's first special issue
on the IBM PC was actually a
regular issue (November
1983) that featured several ar¬
ticles about the PC, By this
time, the PC had been around
for slightly over two years.
The debate about whether or
not it would endure had dis¬
solved. However, the market
still had some growing to do.
My copy has a dog-eared page
so 1 could easily find an ad for
an interesting new compiler
called Turbo Pascal.

Jerry Pournel le wasn 't even
using a PC yet, although he
confirmed

ell, it's clear by now that
OS/2 is a flop. It just
never made the grade.
Only a few hundred soft¬
ware vendors are writing

this, 100 more programs should be
available.

Here's a look at DOS's record. The
following examples are from two com¬
puter magazines: an IBM PC-specific
trade publication that published a com¬
prehensive list of available software for
the PC in September 1982 (one year after
the PC’s release) and BYTE's first IBM
PC special issue in the fall of 1983.

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Fall 1989 87

THE STATE OF OS/2

V Circle 39 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS; 40)

OS/2

0 (

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EVTE May 1989

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DOS? Highly recommended.

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mentioned m his column that he would be
getting one soon. One author in the issue
claimed that the PC would be popular be¬
cause (1) Digital Research’s CP/M-86
would catch on with the release of its
DOS emulator and (2) Logitech would
soon release a Modula-2 compiler for the
PC that would open the door for loads of
new applications to be written.

Back to the Present

Today, OS/2 looks similar to DOS in
1982. Getting started costs about the
same amount of money. Back then, a
256K-byte PC with two floppy disk
drives (essential for development), a dot¬
matrix printer, an editor, and a compiler
cost about $4500. Starting OS/2 with an
80286-based machine, an 80-megabyte
hard disk drive, EGA, 4 megabytes of
RAM, and basic software tools runs
about $5000.

A sizable proportion of the software
available now for OS/2, although not the
majority, is useful mainly to developers.
And the learning curve is steep. The ter¬
minology of graphical programming in¬
terfaces, threads, queues, dynamic link
libraries, and the rest takes some getting
used to. But in 1981, who knew what
‘'segments" and “offsets” were, or how
to (or why to) hook BIOS vectors. The
sole documentation on assembly lan¬
guage code was the IBM/Microsoft
Macro Assembler manual, which ex¬
plained nothing except which op codes
were which. The MASM manual had no
examples of actual assembler programs
and no tutorial information.

The OS/2 development situation is, in
some ways, better than the DOS situation
was at the one-year mark. Developers
understand the iapx86 architecture, al¬
though some relearning is needed to
work with protected mode. And OS/2
documentation and third-party refer¬
ences are more plentiful than DOS books
were in 1982. OS/2 is still a bit unstable,
but compare it to DOS 1.0. Early DOS
wouldn't support serial printers and
most utilities {e.g., BASICA and DISK-
COPY). Also, it wouldn’t use the full
64QK bytes, and hard disk drives weren't
supported. Vendors had to patch COM¬
MAND. COM to make devices work!

Current OS/2 Applications

One source of application information
for OS/2 is IBM and Microsoft’s Operat¬
ing System/2 Application Guide , (To get
a free copy, call (800) 426-2468, ext,
120.) The guide lists these 13 application
categories (with the number of applica¬
tions in parentheses): accounting (160),
business (140), communications (100),

database (82), desktop publishing (17),
engineering/scientific (78), graphics
(66), industry-specific (240), miscella¬
neous (27), spreadsheet (5), tools (142),
utilities (70), and word processing (14).

Note the profusion of industry-spe¬
cific products—vertical-market pack¬
ages. This mimics the DOS experience.

The accounting category contains,
well, accounting packages. Business is a
potpourri of everything from device
drivers for WORM (write once, read
many times) drives to more accounting
packages.

Two companies, GammaLink and Pa¬
cific Image, are offering fax boards and
software—an ideal offering. Fax boards
and PCs together have the advantages
that they eliminate the need for a sepa¬
rate fax machine, print in higher resolu¬
tion, and print on laser paper rather than
the slimy fax paper. But they are less
than perfect because they can’t provide a
24-hour-a-day incoming fax service
unless you're willing to dedicate a PC to
faxing—which makes PC-based fax
pretty expensive—or unless you run the
fax board in a multitasking operating sys¬
tem. OS/2 and fax, then, are made for
each other. A package from Inset Sys¬
tems, HiJaak, will convert fax image for¬
mats to and from other graphics stan¬
dards (e.g., .PCX, .DRW, TIFF, and
.PIC) and just about any file format you
can name.

Communications includes the usual
array of 3270 and VT-1Q0 emulators, as
well as X.25 and TCP/IP gateways and
development tools. Unlike DOS, OS/2
supported LANs almost from day one
with the LAN Manager. LAN Manag¬
er's performance is, even in its first ver¬
sion, on a par with older, more refined
network operating systems. Also, it
lacks their drawbacks, namely, alien file
systems and the continual worries about,
“Will this work with the next version of
DOS?”

Some of the old favorites, like Cross¬
talk XVI, aren't out yet for OS/2. How¬
ever, there is no shortage of basic asyn¬
chronous programs, like Hilgraeve's
Hyper Access/5. Logistique LMM has
offered its shareware Procomm-like
Logicomm for over a year now, and it's
my communications mainstay at the mo¬
ment—not because of anything lacking
from the other packages, but because I
learned Logicomm first and haven't had
time to explore the alternatives.

Databases are OS/2’s first application.
R:base System 5 for OS/2 was one of the
first, if not the first commercially avail¬
able OS/2 application. Access to a lot of

continued

88 Fall 1989 ■ BYTE IBM Special Edition

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-■m

3S5*SSSS^*-

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■

tA\ct°

d^ T

^ e< t\orr

••■SsSiStfsSs 55

THE STATE OF OS/2

memory greatly improves database
speed, as any user of one of the “ex¬
tended” database products like Fox-
RASE 386 or Paradox 386 can attest to.
Name any major database product, and
it’s available for OS/2 now: Oracle, Fo¬
cus, Informix, Paradox—even the prod¬
uct similar to dBASE III Plus, Quick¬
silver/SQL from Wordtech.

Large scientific and analytic pro-

Us/2

programs can be
fundamentally different
from DOS programs.

grams are being moved from VS FOR¬
TRAN on IBM mainframes to OS/2,
now that the memory to do these applica¬
tions justice is available. Powerful pro¬
grams like MACSYMA and Mathema-
tica will no doubt show up in an OS/2
incarnation. Matrix manipulation, linear
programming, and statistical packages
are all either delivered or on their way.
The same programs that you needed a
mainframe to use five years ago fit in
OS/2’s memory space quite nicely.

Every major desktop publishing pack¬
age will be on OS/2 by the end of the
year, as well as a few new ones. And
where would desktop machines be with¬
out word processing? The two biggies.
Word and WordPerfect, are both out in
OS/2 versions. And they don’t run badly.
IBM originally offered the first OS/2
word processor. Display Write 4/2. Now
there’s DisplayWrite 5/2. Of course,
with all this memory and graphics, word
processing will continue to look more
and more like desktop publishing.

Do OS/2 Applications Differ?

At this stage in OS/2’s development,
most programs are mere ports of DOS
programs. This is, again, a repeat of the
DOS experience, where the early DOS
programs were ports of CP/M applica¬
tions. The first dBASE II was indistin¬
guishable from the CP/M version, as
were early WordStar and VisiCalc. Ash-
ton-Tate actually shipped the CP/M
manual with the first dBASE II.

But OS/2 programs can be fundamen¬
tally different from DOS programs, for
several reasons:

First, LAN capabilities are built into
OS/2. Machine-to-machine communica¬
tions avenues are right there. Developers
needn’t mess around with NetBIOS to
write LAN-aware applications. Remote
execution (another feature built into
OS/2) and a machine-to-machine com¬
munications system called named pipes
provide the foundation for client-server-
type applications.

Second, OS/2 provides system tools
that make multitasking programs easy to
create. For example, why should you
have to wait while saving a file in a word
processor? You should be able to keep
working while the save goes on concur¬
rently. This can be done under DOS, but
it requires a lot of tricky code. OS/2 has,
built in, the notion of threads of execu¬
tion. It’s relatively simple to set up a pro¬
cedure within a program as a separate
thread of execution that runs in parallel
with the main program. In the word pro¬
cessor case, the “save” thread could save
the file in the background while the main
editing thread continued. The thread-
creation and thread-destruction mecha¬
nism is fast, and it involves fairly low
overhead.

Third, OS/2’s minimum platform is
richer than that for DOS. The DOS de¬
veloper who wants to sell many copies
must write a program that will run well
on the average user’s machine. The aver¬
age user doesn’t have a mouse, so the
program shouldn’t require one (unless
it’s a Windows program, which assumes
that it’s on a platform that requires a
mouse). There are several competing
video graphics standards, and some
video boards don’t support graphics at
all, so you shouldn’t include graphics in
a crucial section. Or, if you do support
video, you must support all kinds of
video—Hercules, CGA, EGA, and VGA
at a minimum; AT&T, 3270 PC,
8514/A, and Professional Graphics
Adapter in the next bunch; and so on.
Ditto color. Very discouraging.

OS/2 eases the burden. The OS/2 de¬
veloper knows that the target machine es¬
sentially must have a mouse and must
have video, and the video is managed by
the Presentation Manager (PM), so there’s
no need to worry about what type it is.

Are OS/2 programs different from
DOS programs? Initially, not so much,
but the newer applications are showing
off OS/2’s unique features.

How Not to Write
an OS/2 Application

As I said earlier, at this stage in OS/2’s
history, applications are generally just

continued

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Circle 186 on Reader Service Card

THE STATE OF OS/2

DOS conversions. Let's look at an exam¬
ple of how not to write an OS/2 applica¬
tion. I don't want to name any names, be¬
cause the product itself is good enough in
its particular product category. Most of
the current OS/2 programs share its sins,
so I don't want to beat up on it in particu¬
lar, This application searches for data on
a hard disk, akin to what GOfer does
under DOS, It has the ability to search
across a fairly wide variety of string
patterns.

Under OS/2* this program doesn't
seem to have any new functions. Basical¬
ly, you fill out a request screen that in¬
cludes the search criteria that you want to
use. I can say something like, "Find a
line where 'banana' and 'monkey* show
up, but not where 4 ape* shows up," Then
the program starts searching over what¬
ever paths and filenames I tell it to. Very
nice.

But the program keeps grinding away,
one file at a time. It informs me at the
bottom of the screen that it has found, let
us say* 30 proper matches. It is still
working to find others. Think about that:
This program has found 30 files that
match my criteria, and it's making me

n t this

stage , OS/2 applications
are generally just
DOS conversions.

wait while it looks for others! That*s def¬
initely crazy. The edit/display screen
should come up immediately with the
first match* and the program should then
spawn a thread in the background to keep
searching.

As the application searches, it comes
across a system file, GS2.INI* It gets a
"sharing violation." Well* of course it
does-= that file is kept open by the sys¬
tem. Does it skip over it? No* it actually
wants me to answer "Continue or Stop?
(C or S}" for every silly open file* On
DOS, that's no sweat—there aren't too
many open files. But on OS/2? Give me a
break. Even if the error were legitimate*
the program should keep searching other

files while waiting for advice on the
problem file*

There are other problems, but you get
the picture* Even big-name word proces¬
sors don’t have background saves incor¬
porated yet. DOS-ported programs ex¬
ploit OS/2 features chiefly in cases
where the developer has already labored
to add a feature to the application that
DOS lacked* The most common one is
virtual memory. For example, BRIEF* a
text editor under DOS, can edit files
that are larger than memory. Under-
Ware* BRIEF'S developer, added extra
code to provide the ability to spill file
overflow onto a disk. UnderWare happily
removed the extra code for the OS/2 ver¬
sion, because virtual memory is an auto¬
matic and integral part of OS/2.

The applications that exploit OS/2 fea¬
tures* as would be logical* are those that
have been built from scratch under OS/2*
Hamilton Laboratories’ Hamilton C
Shell is an example of this. It makes disk
searches seem much faster* for example,
by cleverly exploiting multithreading.
Since making an application a PM appli¬
cation requires some massive code re¬
writing, the pile of programs coming in

Word Publishing.„Word Processing &

DeScribe-Word Publisher bridges the gulf between word

processing and desktop publishing—the next generation
word processor. DeScribe is the first WYSIWYG word
processor for IBM’s powerful OS/2 Presentation Man-
ager. What’s on the screen is what prints on the paper.

And you control it ail with a friendly point and click

— ^

DeScribe, Inc.

IBM’ es a registered nude-mark and Gperyrintf S’ystem, 1 ? "\ iJpjfET, and Presentation Manager - ’ arc ira

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Circle 160 tm Reader Service Card

THE STATE OF OS/2

for PM will no doubt be built to be more
GS/2-aware.

OS/2 Applications Will Appear

Unexpectedly high memory prices and
delays from Microsoft and IBM on devel¬
oper tools have held back OS/2 develop¬
ment. But memory prices are subsiding,
and the tools that are out now are fairly
good. Third-party debugging products
like Logitech’s MultiScope are powerful
additions to any programmer's toolkit
that simplify development.

One reason why OS/2 applications will
probably continue to appear is that devel¬
opers report that once they get started
with OS/2, they find that they like it as a
development environment. Since it is a
protected-mode operating system, appli¬
cations cannot go too awry without trip¬
ping a protection exception that causes
the operating system to shut down the er¬
rant program. Thus, a not-yet-debugged
program won’t crash the entire system,
only its session, which is then easily
restarted.

Pve yet to talk to a developer who was
dissuaded from working with OS/2 by
the quality of the tools. Those who

choose not to write for OS/2 say it’s be¬
cause OS/2 is Intel-specific, whereas
Unix is not; OS/2 requires too much
(compared to DOS) in terms of hardware
platforms; OS/2 is buggy; or OS/2
doesn't use the 80386 features yet,
whereas some versions of Unix do.

Like all software, OS/2 will improve
with age. Around the time you read this,
OS/2 version 1.2 will be released. It will
incorporate fixes for things like the
brain-damaged print spooler and the lack
of primer drivers, as well as introduce
the much-improved file system.

Next spring, the 80386 version of
OS/2 will finally arrive in version 2.0.
That will spur even more software. Re¬
member that the 80286, although blessed
with its protected mode that lets it ad¬
dress 16 megabytes of memory, is cursed
with having to address it 64K bytes at a
time. This is not so with the 80386. It
brings a new protected mode, a 32-bit
mode that can address 4 -gigabyte address
spaces, with segments as large as 4 giga¬
bytes. No more fumbling with 64K-byte
segments!

There’s a lot of software out there sit¬
ting on IBM mainframes, VAXes, and

Unix boxes that hasn’t been ported to the
PC, partly because it's such a pain to cut
and arrange everything to fit in the silly
small Intel segments. With OS/2 2.0,
that problem will go away. The 80386
supports multiple DOS sessions, so ver¬
sion 2.0 can provide the best of both
worlds—DOS multitasking and 80386
OS/2 features.

There are hundreds of OS/2 programs
in existence today—and thousands more
are still to come. Many are warmed-over
DOS applications. But native OS/2 pro¬
grams will appear toward the end of this
year and the beginning of next year.
Memory prices are dropping, so the larg¬
est hardware barrier to OS/2 acceptance
is slowly going away. The applications
are broad-based and apply to many in¬
dustries and users. All these things spell
success for OS/2—even if not the kind of
success that IBM and Microsoft were
expecting. ■

Mark J . Minasi is a managing partner at
Moulton, Minasi <£ Company, a Colum¬
bia, Maryland t firm specializing in tech¬
nical seminars. He can be reached on
BIX as “mjminasL M

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IBM SPECIAL ISSUE

AIX

ON THE

PS/2S

A look at IBM’s version of Unix
and why you should care

Ben Smith

BM has gone the distance
for a qualifying Unix
event. It has fully imple¬
mented AIX {its licensed
version of Unix) on the
PS/2s. All the pieces are there, and they
all work. But why should you consider
using AIX? And for that matter, why
should you consider using Unix in any of
its incarnations?

to the power and capacity of the mini¬
computer of five years ago, Unix also is
found on the desktop.

Unix utilities and file organization
have been the model for the enhance¬
ments of MS-DOS. In fact, Microsoft
once published a memo to developers that
stated that each subsequent release of
MS-DOS would bring it closer to Xenix
(its license of Unix).

Unix is not a reasonable operating sys¬
tem for a single user running a single ap¬
plication program such as Lotus 1-2-3,
although it is quite possible to do just
that, Unix is a reasonable operating sys¬
tem for a single user doing several tasks
concurrently; it is an excellent operating
system for many users sharing comput¬
ing resources and information.

Who Wants Unix?

Although there are proprietary
operating systems that may
offer more capabilities for a
specific task, Unix is a gener¬
ally solid and widely accepted
operating system that runs on
the widest range of computers
in the world. As a result, it of¬
fers a consistent kernel
around which application pro¬
grams can be wrapped, giv¬
ing developers maximum por¬
tability for their work.

Unix was developed about
20 years ago at Bell Labs,
Since then it has gone through
many generations of design
and distribution. It became a
commercial operating system
just before MS-DOS was
thrust on the world, but at that
time it was generally found
only on large minicomputers
and mainframes. Now that
the microcomputer has grown

Unix Versions and Politics
Unix goes by many different
names (e,g., AUX, AIX, UI-
trix, Xenix, and HPUX), but
these names all reflect source
code licenses from AT&T for
roughly the same thing. Each
vendor has added its own util¬
ities and enhancements. The
basic core and utilities remain
the same throughout. Until
recently, all the vendor li¬
censes for Unix fell into two
flavors, System V and BSD.
System V represents the
“pure” AT&T release. BSD
(Berkeley Software Distribu¬
tion) is connected with a path
of parallel development from
the common parent, System
7. BSD was the first version to
take advantage of the virtual
memory capability of the
VAX, Nowadays, all Unix li¬
censes have many BSD fea¬
tures and utilities.

continued

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Fall 1989 95

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Recently, AT&T and Sun Microsys¬
tems (which is the major exponent of
BSD) reached an agreement to codevelop
the next release of System V, merging the
two versions. But there was a strong neg¬
ative reaction from many of the manufac¬
turers of hardware for Unix, including
Hewlett-Packard, Digital Equipment
Corp., and IBM. Although each of these
companies had adopted many of the BSD
features into their versions of Unix, they
believed that the coalition of AT&T and
Sun shut them out of the control of the
new standards. They decided to form
their own standards organization, the
Open Software Foundation. All mem¬
bers of this list of elite computer manu¬
facturers contributed huge amounts of
money and personnel to form OSF. IBM
also contributed the source code of AIX,
its enhanced version of Unix.

There is no doubt that AIX will be a
major design element in the OSF stan¬
dard version of Unix. And there is also
no doubt that OSF will influence future
releases of AT&T versions in the same
way that BSD has. Although the union of
BSD and System V spawned a new child,
OSF, a child often influences the deci¬
sions of the parent. AIX will be an im¬
portant element of design in all future
versions of Unix.

AIX

Traditionally, IBM offered Unix only on
its RT (RISC technology) machines. But
last autumn, it announced that it planned
to offer Unix on all families of com¬
puters, from its largest (3090-600) down
to its smallest, the PS/2s, the first for
which it was released. It is shipping, and
it is good; but it’s also immense. AIX for
the PS/2s includes not only all the stan¬
dard stuff (a selection of shells, editors,
mail system, communications, compiler,
report generator, calculator, and so on),
but also networking protocols (TCP/IP),
3270 support for interfacing with tradi¬
tional IBM machines, DOS as a guest op¬
erating system (Merge), communications
with terminal emulation (ATE), and a
generous supply of excellent tools for the
application program developer.

With all the modules available for
PS/2 AIX, there are 50 1.44-megabyte
disks. That comes to more than 70 mega¬
bytes for the operating system and asso¬
ciated utilities!

Installing an operating system of that
size is no small matter. And, if this is
your first time, plan on doing it twice.
The first installation will serve to ensure
that everything works. The second will
be necessary to get the disk partitions
that you really need. Don’t plan on the

second one until you have spent at least a
few days experimenting with the first in¬
stallation. Be sure to spend some of your
time with Merge. Decide how much disk
space you want to dedicate to pure DOS.
Put aside at least 4 hours for each instal¬
lation. (With experience, you can prob¬
ably get that down to 2 hours.)

Merge

If you are a DOS user migrating to Unix,
you will definitely want Merge (devel¬
oped by Locus Computing) on your PS/2
AIX. When you run Merge, everything
appears as it would when running a va¬
nilla DOS, even though you are actually
running AIX as the host and the disk is
really a Unix (AIX) file system. Merge
manages and maintains DOS files and
programs on an AIX partition. (As I
mentioned, you may still want a purely
DOS partition, though.)

Merge is really the hook in AIX that
enables you to run DOS. It is not a DOS
emulation like VP/ix (from Interactive
Systems). With Merge, you actually in¬
stall a fully licensed PC-DOS. Disk
drives, serial ports, and the screen all
behave as if you were running DOS inde¬
pendently of any other operating system.
I actually ran System Sleuth from the
Merge DOS (see the Short Take “Sleuth¬
ing Your Troubles Away,” June BYTE).
Everything behaved as if there were
nothing between DOS and the real physi¬
cal devices, except when I was memory
snooping: There appeared to be only
640K bytes of memory when, in fact,
there were 6 megabytes.

DOS is run on a virtual machine, and
the devices are managed by Merge and
AIX. But your DOS programs will never
know: a wonderful and useful illusion. It
is so well done that you can easily forget
that you are actually running Merge. The
stand-alone DOS versus Merge DOS per¬
formance degradation is trivial (pro¬
vided that you have sufficient memory in
your system to dedicate 1 megabyte to the
virtual machine).

AIX Is Unix

It is nice to have a transition from DOS to
Unix, but the real question is, how good
is AIX as a Unix? There had been some
rumors that AIX was not really Unix.
Not true: AIX is real Unix (whatever that
might mean). It will be fully POS1X-
compliant. (POSIX is the operations
specification currently being developed
by ANSI and IEEE. It is being supported
by the U.S. government and will prob¬
ably be supported by the International
Standards Organization.)

continued

96 Fall 1989 • BYTE IBM Special Edition

The Standard for
Circuit

Simulation

4 //r~~

-— 4

im zsu gnu
□ -nuct>

1-V curves of a triode vacuum tube

Analog Behavioral Modeling

The Analog Behavioral Modeling option
for PSpice allows one to describe analog
components, or entire circuit blocks, using
a formula or a look-up table. For linear
blocks, thedescription can beeither a Laplace
transform or a table of frequency response.
Once defined, PSpice can simulate circuits
including such blocks.

Besides Analog Behavioral Modeling, these other
PSpice options are also available:

The ability to model entire blocks of circuitry is a
powerful aid in designing a system from the top down.
A functional block can be described by its behavior
without worrying about how that function will be
implemented. Later, the block can be replaced by the
actual circuitry.

• Digital Simulation, which allows one to simulate
mixed analog/digital circuits with feedback between
the analog and digital sections.

• Monte Carlo analysis to calculate the effect of
parameter tolerances on circuit performance. This
includes statistical, sensitivity, and worst case
analyses.

• The Probe “software oscilloscope” provides an
interactive viewing environment for simulation
results (see photo above).

• The Parts parameter extraction program, allow¬
ing one to extract a device’s model parameters
from data sheet information.

Another application is the modeling of electronic
components which are not built into PSpice. The
photo above shows an example of simulating the DC
characteristics of a 3/2-power-law device.

Since its introduction over five years ago, MicroS im’s
PSpice has more copies sold than all other commercial
Spice programs combined. Here are some of the
features which have made PSpice so popular:

■ Standard parts libraries of over2200analog models:
diodes, bipolar transistors, small-signal JFET’s,
power MOSFET’s, opamps, voltage comparators,
transformer cores, and opto-couplers.

GaAs MESFET devices, BSIM MOS model.

Non-linear transformers modeling saturation, hys¬
teresis, and eddy current losses.

Ideal switches for use with, for example, power
supply and switched capacitor circuit designs.

PSpice is available on these computers:

• The PC family, including the PS/2, running DOS,
Protected Mode DOS, or OS/2.

• The Macintosh II.

• The Sun 3, Sun 4, and SPARCstation families.

• The Apollo DN3000 and DN4000 workstations.

• The VAX/VMS family, including the MicroV AX.

Each copy of PSpice comes with our extensive product
support. Our technical staff has over 100 years of
experience in CAD/CAE and our software is supported
by the engineers who wrote it. With PSpice, expert
assistance is only a phone call away.

For our free information packet, including a PSpice
demo diskette, call us toll free at (800) 826-8603 or, in
California, (714) 770-3022. Find out for yourself why
PSpice is the standard in circuit simulation.

MicroSim Corporation

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PSpice is a registered trademark of MicroSim Corporation, Al] other brands and product names arc trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

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AIX ON THE PS/2S

AIX contains all the standard System
V calls and utilities as well as most of the
Berkeley calls and utilities. Where there
are overlaps, Berkeley Unix is given the
decision. For instance, Is to the stan¬
dard output (screen) defaults to a multi¬
ple-column list of the file subdirectory.
The UUCP (for Unix-to-Unix communi¬
cations) system is the HoneyDanBer ver¬
sion, BNU (Basic Network Utilities).
This more modern set of utilities has
more versatile device-control tables and
remote-site specific permissions offer¬
ing better security than the earlier ver¬
sions found on System V machines. None
of the machines using the System V BNU
were affected by last year’s network
worm that brought thousands of com¬
puters to a standstill.

The system administration and X Win¬
dow management programs are IBM’s
own (more on these later). You will not
find EMACS, but vi and its friends are
there. The mail system is the Berkeley
version. The compiler is IBM’s. AIX
looks like Unix, feels like Unix, acts like
Unix, runs Unix programs, and is a Unix
license. It is as solid as any Unix you will
find. I have no complaints. In fact, I have
many compliments.

Perhaps due in part to shared libraries,
but also to good operating-system engi¬
neering and compiler design, AIX is
faster and more efficient in almost every
activity than other versions of Unix on
the PS/2s. The only exception is an im¬
portant one: floating-point operations.
Without a math coprocessor, floating¬
point operations creep along. With the
addition of this expensive piece of ce¬
ramic and silicon, the floating-point op¬
erations are marginally better than their
non-AIX counterparts. (I obtained these
results with an early version of the new
BYTE Unix benchmarks [available on
BIX or on disk; see page 3 for details].
Unfortunately, the 25-MHz PS/2 Model
70-A21 that I was using was also an early
release, and the machine died before I
could complete the benchmarks.)

Special Features

Not the least of my compliments for AIX
comes from my gratitude for decent
documentation. Although the binding of
the documentation is far from elegant,
the writing and organization are a con¬
siderable improvement over the standard
AT&T documents. I have eight full sets
of Unix documentation from various
sources. The prettiest are Apple’s A/UX
manuals. But IBM’s is the most useful
and readable. Most Unix implementers
do little more than republish the AT&T

continued

98 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Circle 42 on Reader Service Card

TimeWands - The Obvious Choice

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AIX ON THE PS/2S

Table 1: You could spend around $4000 to become fully involved with AIX.

AIX PRODUCT PRICING

Product

Description

Price

PS/2 AIX

Kernel and basic Unix utilities.

1 - to 2-user license included;

1- to 16*user license: add $200.

$595

Operating Systems
Extensions

UUCP, message handler, mail,
and some extensions to system
administration and user tools.

$275

DOS Merge

Hooks to run PCDOS under AIX.

$275

Usability Services

Tools and interface for the novice.

$275

Text Formatting

System

Plain ASCII text formatting and
typesetting for CAT phototypesetter.

$220

X Window System

Standard network and local windows
communications and controls, including
a primitive window manager.

$214

VS FORTRAN

$302

VS Pascal

$302

IBM C Language

$302

Application Development
Toolkit

•

$192

Workstation Host

Interface Program

Connections to IBM mainframes.

$441

TCP/IP

Network communications and control.

$330

Ten/Plus

Interactive Systems' visual shell,
editor, and mail system for Unix.

$275

Total:

$3998

documents. IBM has completely edited
the set and added many useful supple¬
ments.

AIX’s implementation of Interactive
Systems’ Ten/Plus user interface is a
valuable addition. The core of this is
I Ned, an easy-to-use and aesthetically
pleasing integrated file manager and edi¬
tor. Although it is not as rich in com¬
mands as vi nor as flexible as EMACS, it
is much easier to learn and allows multi¬
ple editing windows. I Ned provides a
history of versions of INed files, from
which previous versions can be recon¬
structed. Unfortunately, in order to pro¬
vide all these facilities, INed does not
use plain ASCII files, although they can
be imported and exported. Ten/Plus also
includes a mail and remote-connect in¬
terface.

IBM has a more general-purpose win¬
dowed interface to AIX called Usability
Services. I found this interface awkward

and far from intuitive. It can be driven by
a mouse, but it requires special Alt-key
sequences as well. A good X Window
manager and associated user environ¬
ment would be far more useful than this
product.

AIX does provide a solid port of the X
Window System (from MIT). Although
IBM contributed its own window man¬
ager, which provides little more than the
public versions from MIT, all the parts
are there if you wish to develop your
own. I suspect that the AIX window
manager is a stopgap until IBM starts
shipping Motif (from the OSF), a truly
complete graphical user interface and a
probable winner on all counts.

Important Subtleties

Of direct importance to the developer
and of indirect importance to the end
user, AIX implements shared libraries.
This means that those parts of different

100 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

AIX ON THE PS/2S

programs that are the same are loaded
into memory only once. Shared libraries
do not become part of the programs until
the programs actually run, rather than at
the time the programs are compiled and
linked. Because a substantial portion of
every program is common, shared librar¬
ies may use less disk space. Processes
that use shared libraries may also require
less main memory but may load slower.

As with all modern versions of Unix,
the AIX kernel provides some form of
virtual memory, the ability to run pro¬
grams that require more memory than is
available in physical RAM. A process
running under the kernel uses three stan¬
dard virtual segments: a text segment
(usually the executable code of the pro¬
gram associated with the process), a data
segment (the location of most of the vari¬
ables used by the program), and a stack
(the active area used for parameter pass¬
ing, register snapshots, and address
stashing). The use of shared libraries
may also specify additional text and data
segments. AIX processes can also create
and use segments that are shared with
other processes.

With the exception of the ugly and un¬
necessary messages issued from the C
compiler that inform you that your com¬
piler is copyrighted by IBM, AIX devel¬
opment tools are excellent, efficient, and
well documented. Virtual and shared
memory, standardized program message
services, program monitor tools, and an
advanced symbolic debugger are features
that enhance the standard Unix applica¬
tion developer’s environment.

Virtual Terminals

AIX provides virtual terminals on the
console (the screen and keyboard con¬
nected directly to a PS/2). But unlike
SCO Xenix and Interactive Systems’
Unix, AIX does not use a simple entry in
the device directory that looks to the sys¬
tem administration like any other serial
terminal connection. Instead, a user al¬
ready on the system initiates a virtual ter¬
minal by issuing open followed by a
command. For example, open sh opens a
new virtual terminal running the Bourne
shell; open dos opens a virtual terminal
running DOS; and open login opens a
new log-in. There are 17 virtual termi¬
nals available. A special key combina¬
tion rotates through the active virtual ter¬
minals. Processes associated with a
virtual terminal continue even when that
terminal is not being displayed.

Weaknesses

The trend these days is away from stand¬
alone Unix machines. Networked work¬

stations and Unix boxes are the fashion.
Although TCP/IP is fully implemented
in AIX, the Network File System (devel¬
oped by Sun Microsystems) is missing,
even though it is included in Ultrix
(DEC’S Unix) and the new System V.4
Unix standard from AT&T. Although
NFS is missing, IBM has not been negli¬
gent. True to form, IBM is implementing
its own network interconnectivity, the
Transparent Computing Facility (TCF).
(See “A Transparent Environment,”
July BYTE.) This provides far more util¬
ity and transparency than any other com¬
parable system. But it is proprietary to
IBM, a great weakness.

Another weak element in AIX for the
PS/2s is the system administration inter¬
face. Old-time Unix systems required
Spartan priests (always a rare class) as
system administrators. AIX does provide
a more consistent and carefully crafted
set of system administration tools than
were found in those antique systems. But
its set of administrative tools is lackluster
when compared to that of SCO and Inter¬
active Systems.

There is no reason that a clever admin¬
istrator couldn’t pull the AIX tools to¬
gether under a menu structure, but the
whole idea is not to require a clever ad¬
ministrator. Small Unix systems seldom
have more than a few users, none of
whom should need to be wizards.

Why AIX on the PS/2s?

The PS/2 configured for AIX is not
cheap (see table 1). It is more than twice
as expensive as an 80386 AT clone run¬
ning SCO. So why would anyone want it?
And why did IBM develop AIX for the
PS/2s? The PS/2 Models 70 and 80 are
designed as full 32-bit computers (unlike
the AT machines). AIX for the PS/2s
takes advantage of the new hardware.

But of greater importance is IBM’s
commitment to AIX. At first, I ques¬
tioned the sincerity of its announcement
to put AIX on the entire range of its com¬
puter families. IBM’s demonstration at
the 1988 Fall Unix Expo started to build
my confidence in the company. IBM has
revived its RT line and has nearly com¬
pleted a full AIX for the 3090. These ef¬
forts are encouraging. The implementa¬
tion of the Locus Operating System as
TCF is a great glue to bind together all
IBM systems. But the one grain of sand
that tipped the scales of belief is the trin¬
ket that IBM handed out at the 1989 sum¬
mer Usenix, a little flashlight with the
words, “We’ve seen the light: AIX.” ■

Ben Smith is a BYTE technical editor. He
can be reached on BIX as “bensmith. ”

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BYTE IBM Special Edition •

Fall 1989 101

Quarteraec

DESQview 2.2 and DESQview 386. The
multitasking, windowing environments
that work with your favorite software.

DESQview'" is the operating environment
that brings OS/2 1 * power to DOS. And it
lets you, with your trusty 8088,8086,

80286, or 80386 PC, leap into the next
generation in PC productivity For not
much money And without throwing
away your favorite software.

Introducing DESQview 2.2

And now, DESQview 2.2 adds capabilities,
performance, and compatibility
enhancements you've been asking for;

Like being able to fine tune DESQview
performance "on the fly" Run Lotus Express
and Metro, And the Intel Connection Co
Processor. Even use the DOS 4.0 shell with
DESQview. Have DESQview automatically install
Quattro, Sprint, Aldus PageMaker, Microsoft
Excel, Word Perfect, Dataease and as many as 80
other programs. And using the DESQview API,
be able to dynamically link them.

More bang; less bytes

While other programs get bigger, we've worked
to make DESQview smaller, And we've
succeeded in a big way on PCs and PS^s with
extended, EMS 3.2 (Aboveboard), EEMS and
EMS 4.0 memory—as well as on 386 PCs and

PS/2s, For example, DESQview overhead on
EMS 4.0 and 386 PCs can be as low as 10K on
EGA/VGA PCs. And DESQview actually
increases memory 3GK on CGA PCs; 20K on
monochrome and Hercules PCs. That's good
news for users of big desktop publishing, CAD
and database programs.

Introducing DESQview 386

For users of 80386 PCs and PS/2s (or PCs with
80386 add-in boards, such as the Intel Inboard
386), there's DESQview 386 (a combination of
DESQview 2,2 and the new QEMM-386

Quarterdeck Expanded Memory
Manager, version 4,2).

DESQview 386 gives you
extraordinary power, Run text,
CGA, EGA, VGA, and Hercules
programs in windows and in the

background. Run 32-bit 386 programs, like
Paradox 386, and IBM Interleaf simultane¬
ously with your favorite DOS programs.
All with the speed and performance you
expect out of your 386, And with protec¬
tion against 'misbehaved' programs.

Promise and performance

And, of course, both DESQviews have all
the features that made prior versions the
popular choice in operating environments.
The ability to multitask in 640K and
beyond. View programs in windows or
full screen. Transfer data. Access DOS via
menus. Dial your phone. And create key¬
stroke macros within and between programs.

Our story gets better and better

If there's any doubt about our commitment to
your PC and PS/2 productivity, just look at our
accomplishments over the years. We think you
will understand why GE, Ford, Aetna,

Monsanto, and so many other major
corporations use DESQview

And why PC Magazine twice gave DESQview its
Editor's Choice Award for "The Best Alternative
to OS/2/' why readers of InfoWorld voted
DESQview "Product of the Year" three times.
Why, by popular vote at Comdex Fall for two
years in a row, DESQview was chosen "Best PC
Environment" in PC Tech Journal's Systems
Builder Contest, and just won their "Professional
Solutions" Award.

DESQview lets you have it all now

k Delivers.

QEMM. DESQview API Toolkit.

Break the New C and Pascal
640K barrier Libraries, Debugger,
for $59.95 Panel Designer. Ana more.

Your 80386 PC, IBM Personal System/2 Model
80, PC or AT with 80386 add-in board, as well as
your IBM Personal System/2 Models 50 or 60
can all break through the DOS 640K barrier Now
you can have maximum use of your
memory—whether you have one megabyte or
32—with the Quarterdeck Expanded Memory
Manager All without having to purchase special
expanded memory boards.

QEMM uses hidden
features within your
existing memory to make
it compatible with the
Lotus-Intel-Microsoft
Expanded Memory
Specification (EMS) version 4.0,

Now r you can run colossal spreadsheets,
databases, and CAD models designed for
expanded memory, using Lotus 1-2-3, Symphony
Framework, Paradox, AutoCAD, Excel and
more.

And if you'd like to use these programs all
together—multitasking beyond 64GK—QEMM
w r orks with our popular DESQview multitasking
environment.

If you are one of the 12 million or so 8088,
8086 or 80286 PC users w r ho feel left out, don't
despair. We have options that let you keep your
computer and favorite programs and give you
today w r hat the newest PCs and operating
systems are promising for the future.

Visit your dealer for more information on
barrier-breaking Quarterdeck products.

API Reference Manual

The key to the power of the DESQview API, our
Reference Manual contains all you need to know
to write Assembly Language programs that take
full advantage of DESQview's capabilities. And
there's an include' file with symbols and macros
to aid you in development,

API C Library

Here are C language interfaces for the entire set
of API functions. It supports the Lattice™ C,
Metaware 7 " C, Microsoft* C, and Turbo C
compilers for all memory models. Included with
the C Library' package is the API Reference
Manual and source code for the library.

API Pascal Library

The Pascal library provides interfaces for
entire set of API functions. It supports Turbo
Pascal V4.0 and V5.0 compilers. Included are the
API Reference Manual, source code for the library,
and example programs,

API Debugger

The DESQview API Debugger is an interactive
tool enabling the API programmer to trace and
single step through API calls from several
concurrently running DESQview-specific
programs. Trace information is reported sym¬

bolically along with the program counter,
registers, and stack at the time of the call. Trace
conditions can be specified so that only calls of
interest are reported,

API Panel Designer

This interactive tool helps you design windows,
menus, help screens, error messages, and forms,
It includes an editor that lets you construct an
image of your panel using simple commands to
enter, edit, copy, and move text, as well as draw
lines and boxes. You can then define the charac¬
teristics of the window r that will contain the
panel, such as its position, size, and title. Finally,
you can specify the locations and types of fields
in the panel.

The Panel Designer automatically generates
all the DESQview API data streams necessary to
display and take input from your panel. These
data streams may be grouped into panel libraries
and stored on disk or as part of your program.

More Tools are Coming

Quarterdeck is committed to adding tools as
needed by our users. To that end we have been
working with Ashton Tate and Buzzwords
International on dBASE III and dBASEIV
translators. And in the w r orks, we have BASIC
and DOS Extender libraries.

Quarterdeck Office Systems, 150 Pico BlvdL, Santa Monica, CA 90405 (213) 392-9851

FAX: (213) 399-3802

For additional information, please use the following Reader Service numbers; DESQview; #282 QEMM: #283 API Tools: #284 API Conference: #285

With VM/386 Multitasking,

Each DOS Stands Alone

Unlike multitasking environ¬
ments which force each task to share
one copy of DOS, VM/386 is the
only 386 control program which
provides complete task independ¬
ence. With our virtual machine
architecture, designed specifically
for the 80386 microprocessor, you
can even crash and reboot an ap¬
plication—without affecting any of
the others. Richard Eckhouse of
IEEE Computer said “Unlike
other such systems, VM/386 not
only works well, but seems to be
unbreakable.”

Each virtual machine is just tike
a stand-alone PC, complete with its
own copy of
PC-DOS or rfe8fag60ZX(Warr 1 /»te

MS-DOS
(the real
thing, mind
you. not an
imitation). So

each virtual machine in your
multitasking environment gets its
own terminate-and-stay-resident
(TSR) programs, AUTOEXEC,
and CONFIG files.

As Namir Clement Shammas
said in our Byte review: “VM/386
provides you with excellent control

c 1909 ICC. VM/asets g ireOumorkofiGC -30&I9 a tf&dwn,i*rk.o1 Intel Corp
HBtculBEi&ateBiSterBdUFirttemaFk dF Hercules Computer Tech™logy, Jnc
IBM is a ragnlered tr adensark ot In ter rational Business Machines, Inc

for adjusting the performance and
operation of each virtual machine."

VM/386 gives you other kinds
of flexibility, too. You can set
I/O privilege level and interrupt
priorities so multiple devices
can be run simultaneously and
efficiently. You can adjust the
amount of memory used by
each application, including
extended and expanded
memory. VM/386 even
eliminates “RAM cram,”
because you load each appli¬
cation in its own virtual machine.

And, most importantly for any¬
one trying to control complicated
systems, you can adjust time
slices down to the milli¬
second level. Developers
arc using this feature to
update virtual machine
performance “on the fly.”
Another significant capability
of VM/386 is the ability to run
graphics and communications

programs full-time in the back¬
ground. VM/386 supports MDA,
Hercules,

EGA, and

VGA. It
runs Novell, 3COM,
and IBM Token Ring
networks, and micro-
to-mai n frame aim mu n ications.

Why wait for a “new” operating
system, and its inevitable compati¬
bility and “first-release” prob¬
lems? With VM/386,
it takes only a few
minutes to set up a
fully-configurable,
DOS-compatible
multitasking envi¬
ronment on your
386.

Call today: IGC,

48(X) Great Amer¬
ica Parkway, Santa
Clara, CA 95054
Telephone: 408-986-8373, or call
Toll Free: 800-458-9108

See us at Comdex Fall ’89
West Hall Booth #856

Circle 139 on Reader Service Card
(DEALERS: 140)

IBM SPECIAL ISSUE

Looking Beyond
the DOS Prompt

A host of products bring ease of use to DOS systems
without resorting to a graphical user interface

Stan Miastkowski

hat bland C> prompt
that stares at you from
your microcomputer’s
screen has long been the
bane of many new (and
even experienced) computer users. De¬
spite all the publicity and excitement
about the upcoming generations of
graphical user interfaces that will sup¬
posedly make computers incredibly eas¬
ier to use, GUIs are generally
designed for high-end (mean¬
ing expensive) systems with
lots of RAM, fast-access hard
disk drives, and high-speed
processors. And that's not to
mention all the as-yet-un-
delivered software that has to
be fine-tuned to a specific
GUI. (For a detailed look at
the subject, see "A Guide to
GUIs," July BYTE.)

That’s all well and good for
the future, but if you own one
of the millions of low-end
microcomputers, you've
probably been feeling left out
and even forgotten. That's es¬
pecially true if your system is
8088- or 8086-based, since
even iow-end DOS GUIs,
such as Microsoft Windows
and DESQview, either are no
longer available for your sys¬
tem or run unacceptably slow.

And even if you have an early
6-MHz 80286-based system,

you’re still not out of the woods, since
these systems often lack the power to
handle the large disk space requirements
and heavy computational loads that GUIs
put on a system.

The C > prompt, or DOS prompt, is
part of a command-line interface (CLI),
in which text commands, entered line by
line, direct the computer through a se¬
quence of operations. It's actually a lin¬

ear descendant of CP/M, the first truly
useful and widely available operating
system for personal computers. Al¬
though the folks at Microsoft would
probably deny it, the first version of DOS
was a hastily patched-together modifica¬
tion of CP/M concepts (though not the
actual operating-system code). In an ef¬
fort to capitalize on the usefulness of that
early operating system, users have been
saddled with that C > prompt
ever since.

Enter the Shell

As microcomputers became
the standard operating plat¬
form, it quickly became evi¬
dent that users needed a better
way to interact with their sys¬
tems. While it usually takes
only a straightforward com¬
mand to start most applica¬
tions, many users have prob¬
lems remembering the syntax
of even the common DOS
** house keeping" commands
{have you ever remembered
the precise arguments to for¬
mat a 720K-byte, 3^-inch
floppy disk without looking in
a manual?). It only gets worse
for those more useful but eso¬
teric commands, such as
XCOPY, And there are many
things that plain-van ilia DOS
just doesn’t do well at all. A
continued

* Fall 1989 105

BYTE IBM Special Edition

LOOKING BEYOND THE DOS PROMPT

case in point is the DIR command, which
gives you an unsorted list of files that
normally scrolls off the screen before
you can find the specific file that you're
looking for.

Since hard disk drives are nearly a
standard component of most systems,
many users quickly build up a large col¬
lection of files. And thanks to DOS’s
“eight plus three” naming limitation
(another of CP/M’s legacies), filenames
often need to be cryptic. DOS's hierar-

chical subdirectory-based file structure
is supposed to make things more man¬
ageable, but you have to remember which
subdirectories contain what data. Even if
you remember what goes where, getting
there requires that you manually type in
a CD (change directory) command, plus
the sub-sub-subdireetory name, which
makes the whole process a pain. As the
amount of information on your hard disk
grows, the process of locating and using a
specific file gets more time-consuming

83-65 Daniels St r Briowootf. NY 11435(718)262-8787

and frustrating.

The beginnings of the solution came
with what are widely known as DOS
shells. Shells are software (usually
RAM-resident) that “surround” DOS
with a program that interacts directly
with DOS’s COMMAND.COM, This
file, the operating system’s command in¬
terpreter, intercepts and translates text
commands into the low-level system calls
that DOS really understands. Another
way to think of DOS shells is as inte¬
grated environments that sit between
your application and the operating sys¬
tem. This extra processing layer extends
DOS by adding functions and features
that DOS doesn’t have by itself.

More than 49 Flavors

DOS shells come in a wide variety of fla¬
vors and approaches, but they all have
some features in common. Most are very
simple file managers: they find, display,
and organize files, usually by showing
something on the screen beyond that
mute C> prompt. That something is
usually a list of files in an individual di¬
rectory, and because plain-vanilla DOS
displays files only in the order in which
they were put on the disk, shells take the
process one step further by sorting them,
usually alphabetically. The best shells
also give you the ability to sort them by
various other parameters, such as size.

A common thread throughout DOS
shells is their ability to easily navigate
through the maze of subdirectories and
files through the simple process of
“pointing and shooting.” Point to the
file (by moving the cursor) and press Re¬
turn (or click the mouse), and you’re
moved directly to it.

Another common feature of DOS
shells is their ability to perform common
DOS operations on files and subdirector¬
ies. Although not all packages contain all
these features, with most you can do the
following:

* Copy files

* Move files
■ View files

* Change file attributes (e.g., read-only,

hidden)

* Delete files and subdirectories

* Rename files and subdirectories

* Create files and subdirectories

* Tag multiple files for other operations

The key to the usefulness of DOS
shells is their ability to perform most of
these operations on more than one file at
a time. You perform these tasks without
having to physically type in individual

continued

cpcc

MEMORY

If you think the only way to get
more memory is by adding more RAM
chips, it's time you got your hands on
HEADROOM®.

Designed to actually "free up"
memory by shifting parts of programs
and TSRs (RAM resident software) to
your hard disk, extended
or expanded memory.

Headroom eliminates the
dreaded "640K M barrier
weal! know too well.

Of course, there's
more to Headroom than
just freed memory...

...Like hot-key switch¬
ing between programs.

So you can go from word
processing to database
to spreadsheet at the
push of a button. Head-
room even lets you pop up
your TSRs with their normal hot-keys,
in the middle of any application -
even graphics programs - without
using any memory.

Speaking of hot-keys, Headroom
lets you load up to 32 applications
simultaneously, assign your hot-keys,
and use them to switch between pro¬
grams fast and easy.

More than just swapping TSRs,
Headroom automatically "senses"
what particular RAM resident pro¬
gram is needed, and "directs" it to
where it has to go, so it can swap in
print spoolers, communications pro-

HEflDftOOTTI

VERSION 2.0

grams and device drivers when they
are needed.

Headroom is more than a swap¬
ping and switching “merry-go-round"
...much more. By taking the "resi¬
dency" out of RAM resident programs,
it gives you the added benefit of having
more than enough mem¬
ory to handle even the
most "RAM ravenous”
projects and applications.
That’s why PC
Magazine said that
"Headroom performs
more death-defying
escapes from DOS’s
640K straight jacket
than any other pro¬
gram available ."

If you’ve got
memory on your
mind, call us today at

_ 1-800-451-0551

for free memory...
Headroom style.

* Fully transparent environment

* Requires only 50K of memory

» Works with all appi - even windows

* Swaps mainframe emulators

* Ends RAM resident conflicts

* Network compatible

$12995 + 55 per order shipping
[*2Q outside U.S.) visa/MC/C.O.D.

HELL

SOFTWARE

COMPANY

106 Fall 1989 • B YT E IBM Special Edition

Circle 130 on Reader Service Card

Direct From The Manufacturer: “Big Savings
On Award-Winning Products.”

The GV286/120

STANDARD FEATURES

• 80286 running at 12 MHz zero wait state.

• Proprietary, 32KB on-board RAM cache
circuit using high speed (35ns) static RAM.

• 640KB RAM, expandable to 1MB on
motherboard.

• Socketed for 10MHz 80287 math
coprocessor.

• 5.25" 1 2MB or 3.5" 1 44MB floppy drive.

• Western Digital 1:1 interleave dual controller.

• Enhanced 101-key keyboard.

• VGA systems include a high performance.
16-bit video adapter with 512K RAM.

• 200-watt power supply.

• 2 serial/1 parallel port standard (on add-in
card).

• ROM based set-up and diagnostics.

• MademU.S.A.

all today for the lowest prices on some of the finest
equipment on the market. Powerful, high-performance
machines for the most demanding business applications.

But don' t just take our word for it. When PC Maga¬
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“a remarkable value.” An d, wh en PC Week polled 3,000
corporate volume buyers, | PC | Designs scored number one
in more categories than any other manufacturer.

| PC 1 Designs delivers: Quality. Compatibility.
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No wonder |PC| Designs has become “The People’s
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VGA*

Extended

Mono

VGA Color

44MB, 23ms

$2,249

$2,599

155MB, 18ms, ESDI

$3,399

$3,699

320MB, 18ms, ESDI

$4,199

$4,499

• Subtract $200 for TTL rather than VGA.

OR LEASE,

FOR AS LOW AS $77/M0NTH.

OPTIONS

• RAM upgrades.

• Intel 80287 math
coprocessor.

• On-site service agreement.

• MS-DOS 3.3 or 4.01.

• Other hardware configura¬
tions available.

GV386/20 PLUS

STANDARD FEATURES

• 80386 running at 20 MHz zero wait state.

• 1MB RAM on motherboard.

• Proprietary, 64KB on-board RAM cache
circuit using high speed (35ns) static RAM.

• Socketed for 20MHz Intel 80387, or 20MHz
Weitek 3167 math coprocessors.

• 5.25* 1.2MB or 3.5" 1.44MB floppy drive.

• Western Digital 1:1 interleave dual controller.

• Enhanced 101-key keyboard.

• System is capable of expanding to 16 MB
of 32-bit RAM.

• 2.8-bit, 4,16-bit and 2, 32-bit memory
expansion slots.

• VGA systems include a high performance,
16-bit video adapter with 512K RAM.

• 2 serial/1 parallel port standard (on add-in
card).

• ROM based set-up and diagnostics.

• MadeinU.S.A.

VGA-

Extended

Mono

VGA Color

44MB, 23ms

$3,499

$3,799

155MB, 18ms, ESDI

$4,499

$4,899

320MB, 18ms, ESDI

$5,299

$5,699

• • i t i * » « t « « t

t i i i i t i i i t i t ! •

* t i J i l i i i I i t*

I 1 » » i i i » t

.•Subtract $200 for TTL rather than VGA.

OR LEASE,

FOR AS LOW AS S120/M0NTH.

OPTIONS

• RAM upgrade to 3 MB add
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LOOKING BEYOND THE DOS PROMPT

file or directory names.

Another crucial difference between
GUIs and DOS shells is that the shells
don't need to be aware of the applica¬
tions. They'll gladly start any communi¬
cations file or executable file. That's
very different from a true GUI like
Microsoft Windows or OS/2's Presenta¬
tion Manager (PM), where applications
must be specifically developed and tai¬
lored to the GUI's application program¬
mer interface. Of course, you can run
most off-the-shelf DOS applications with
GUIs, but only through the pain-in-the-
neck process of exiting from the GUI en¬
vironment.

Memory* Icons* Mice,
and Smarts

Until recently, one of the biggest prob¬
lems with DOS shells was their RAM
hunger. Early DOS shells often took up
100K to 200K bytes of precious RAM
space. With today’s power applications
often requiring 512K bytes or even 640K
bytes of RAM to run, the RAM require¬
ments of some shells (nearly all of which
are RAM-resident) was just too much.

That problem has largely been solved

because the vast majority of DOS shells
essentially unload themselves from
RAM each time you run an application,
leaving a small RAM-resident kernel
that “calls back” the full shell when you
exit the application. The Norton Com¬
mander is a case in point: Normally it
takes up 140K bytes of RAM, but it can
be configured to leave a small 12K-byte
kernel when ifs not being used. The
DOS 4,0 shell option (described later)
does basically the same thing.

Most DOS shells are character-ori¬
ented. They don't use those cute little
icons, for a number of reasons. One is the
simple fact that there are still lots of low-
end DOS systems that don't have graph¬
ics cards or monitors, and one of the big¬
gest selling points of DOS shells is that
they’re useful to virtually any DOS user,
no matter how limited his or her system.

And with apologies to Macintosh afi¬
cionados, the jury is still definitely out
on just how useful armies of icons really
are. Remembering what a couple dozen
cryptic icons actually mean can be as
much of a chore as remembering esoteric
DOS commands. In fact, GUIs such as
Microsoft Windows and OS/2 PM use

very few icons. Instead, they rely mainly
on windowing concepts and plain text to
get the message across.

Most DOS shells offer additional fea¬
tures for graphics-equipped systems, but
icons are still rare, mainly because of the
legal questions involved due to the Ap¬
ple/Microsoft lawsuit. One company
that's apparently not too concerned about
the legal situation is IBM. Version 1.2 of
OS/2 PM (due on dealer shelves by No¬
vember) will feature many more optional
icons, including the ability to design your
own. Of course, the ideal situation is to
give users a choice of text or icons.

Finally, all the DOS shells mentioned
here, from the simplest to the most so¬
phisticated, let you use a mouse if you're
rodent-inclined. At the same time, none
of them require a mouse. This reflects a
still-deep-seated aversion to mouse use
in the DOS world. Mouse users and key¬
board users still have heated arguments
over the relative merits of each method.
However, mice are destined to eventually
become a near necessity for the easiest
access to DOS shell features. All the
DOS shells I’ve used are easier and faster

continued

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108 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

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Circle 23 on Reader Service Card

LOOKING BEYOND THE DOS PROMPT

to use with a mouse.

Recent DOS shells have become in¬
creasingly sophisticated. The crying
need for an easier way to interact with
DOS has spawned a new category of in¬
telligent DOS shells. In addition to file
management, intelligent shells can pro¬
vide you with services based on a file’s

characteristics. They let you organize
your data by function and context, and
they essentially don’t care what directory
the data is located in. For example, you
can associate groups of files with a given
program (e.g., these files belong to this
spreadsheet program), or you can pro¬
vide the ability to examine the contents of

Photo 1: XTree
was the first add-in
DOS shell to
incorporate the
now-familiar
graphical tree
display of a disk's
directory structure.

Patti: C:\XTPRQ

FILE:

- III!

—

1 —APPS

DISK; C:

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Bytes: 38.bb6.ffa8

-BYTE

DISK Statistics

APRIL

Total

JUNE

Files: 12T

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Bytes: Z.IIW.blH

PERSONAL

fla Lcliinq

LETTERS

Files: m

1 GAII

Bytes: Z.IIIQ.bHI

— TAXESB3

Tagged

Files: 6

README

.DOC XTPRO .X8Z XTPRO .Xt8

Bytes : 8

XTPRO

.COM XTPRO X10 XTPRO Xb8

Current Directory

XTTKII

PIF XTPRO .X28 XTPR0CFG.EXE

XTPRO

XTPBfl

X01 XTPRO X38

Bytes fill .MM

DIR Available Drlrtr Edit Filesprr. Global Log disk lltkedir Print

rOftWNDS Brn.iar Shuua 11 Tag lint ay Uolunr eXccute Quit

•ft* scroll ENTER fllr miibmiiiI . ALT arnu CTRL amnu FI Kelp

Photo 2: In

addition to being
the first DOS shell
to display multiple
directories
concurrently, the
Norton

Commander is the
only one that lets
you enter DOS
commands
directly .

Photo 3: The

optional shell in
DOS 4.0 is IBM's
first graphical
operating-system
interface for PC
users. It conforms
to the company's
Systems
Application
Architecture.

spreadsheet or database files without
having to run a program (commonly
known as “viewing”).

Forests and Trees

The tree is an aptly named term for a fea¬
ture that lets you quickly find individual
files in the “forest” of files that inhabit
the typical hard disk. It’s simply a visu¬
al—but not necessarily graphical-
display of all the files and subdirectories
on a hard disk. In fact, the TREE com¬
mand has been a little-used feature of
DOS since version 2.0, when subdirec¬
tories first became available. It was lit¬
tle-used for the simple reason that while
it showed you the tree structure on your
disk, it did little else. You still had to
navigate your way through subdirectories
by typing the CD command.

The first and still best known program
to take the tree concept and actually
make it useful was XTree from Execu¬
tive Systems (now called XTree Co.).
Although it has gone through several it¬
erations (XTreePro is now also available
for networks and multiple disk volumes),
its basic approach to dealing with DOS
remains essentially unchanged. XTree’s
main screen (see photo 1) is a window
into your disk’s file system, with subdir¬
ectories shown in a tree structure. As you
move from subdirectory to subdirectory,
the files contained in that subdirectory
are shown in a box below it. You can then
perform those common file operations
on one or more files by pointing to the
file, pressing Escape, and choosing the
operation.

XTree’s user interface is useful be¬
cause of its elegant simplicity. And the
product’s basic “look and feel” has been
copied by a number of competitors, who
have added their own changes, additions,
and enhancements. Tree86 3.0 from The
Aldridge Co., with its window into the
file/directory structure, is similar but
takes a more contemporary approach to
its user interface by using “drop down”
menus. Although its features are similar
to those of XTree, Tree86’s less cluttered
display is a closer-to-GUI approach that
many users prefer. It also works best
with a mouse, although one isn’t
required.

And for those of you who would like to
have DOS-shell power without a huge
outlay of bucks, there’s a shareware tree-
oriented shell called Tree View. From the
folks who distribute a popular shareware
package called AutoMenu, Tree View has
a raft of features; these include the
unique ability to display as many as six
different directories and drives at the
same time.

110 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

LOOKING BEYOND THE DOS PROMPT

Letting You Be You

There is one big problem with most DOS
shells: While they make dealing with the
inadequacies and idiosyncrasies of DOS
easier, they often add their own idiosyn¬
crasies that you have to learn to live with
if you use them. Like all applications, a
DOS shell is one person’s (or a commit¬
tee’s) vision of what the DOS interface
should be. Although the major packages
that I’m talking about here usually have a
wide-enpugh variety of features, some
DOS shells are incredibly quirky, seem¬
ingly designed by a programmer from
another dimension. As with all software,
it’s best to try before you buy.

One of the most popular DOS shells
gives you a choice in the matter. The
Norton Commander, now in version 2.0,
offers you what at first glance is an in¬
credibly cluttered screen. But the useful¬
ness and organization of what’s there be¬
comes apparent quickly. And if you look
carefully at the bottom of the screen (see
photo 2), you’ll see the C > prompt inno¬
cently sitting there. If you’re an experi¬
enced DOS user, sometimes you actually
want to bypass shell features and type in
a normal DOS command. The Norton
Commander is the only DOS shell that
lets you do this, and it’s indicative of the
careful design and hard thinking about
user needs that the company puts into all
its products.

The Commander was also the first
DOS shell that recognized the real-world
need to work with more than one direc¬
tory at a time. Its “dual-window” ap¬
proach also remains unique to DOS
shells and makes the process of copying
or moving files from directory to direc¬
tory or from disk to disk particularly
easy, because you immediately see the
results of the operation.

Surprisingly, the Norton Commander
didn’t add a tree display to its list of fea¬
tures until its second release, and then it
did so only because Norton Commander
users asked for it. Norton’s tree display is
optional, and most users find that they
really don’t need it because of the Com¬
mander’s screen display and the ease
with which you can move among files
and subdirectories.

Norton also was the first to add ad¬
vanced file-finding features, and version
2.0 was the first DOS shell to offer con¬
textual file viewers. These allow users to
view Lotus 1-2-3 and dBASE files as
they actually appear in the programs
without having to actually start up the as¬
sociated program. File viewers are one of
the most important add-on DOS features
to come down the pike in years, and they
play a crucial role in the utility of the new

breed of intelligent DOS shells.

The Norton Commander sits squarely
in the middle between standard DOS
shells and intelligent shells. In fact, you
might call it “semi-intelligent.” Taking
a look at the work behind it also indicates
that developing a truly useful DOS shell
is far from a trivial exercise. The source
code for the Norton Commander 2.0, for
example, consists of some 32,000 lines
of C and about 15,000 lines of assembly
language.

At Long Last, DOS

With the release of DOS 4.0 last year,
both IBM and Microsoft finally recog¬
nized the need to make DOS easier to
use. DOS 4.0*s optional SHELL utility
bears similarities to the GUI of Micro¬
soft Windows and IBM’s PM, with pull¬
down and pop-up menus.

That IBM included a shell in DOS 4.0
isn’t very surprising. It’s all in keeping
with IBM’s commitment to its Systems
Application Architecture (SAA), a wide-
ranging user interface specification that
IBM plans to implement for all its sys¬

tems, from mainframes to minicomput¬
ers to workstations to microcomputers.
The aim is connectivity, and the DOS
4.0 shell is SAA all the way (see photo
3). And because SAA supports both
graphics displays and character-oriented
displays, even non-graphics-equipped
microcomputers can use it. This is, how¬
ever, a trade-off, because SAA eats into
system overhead and runs slowly on
many microcomputers.

Unfortunately, there hasn’t exactly
been a wild rush to DOS 4.0. Part of the
reason is that the first release was buggy.
And although IBM fixed the bugs in a
later release last fall, DOS 4.0 still has an
undeserved reputation for incompatibil¬
ity with older DOS applications and as a
RAM hog. But its $150 price tag, while
just a bit higher than many stand-alone
DOS shells, also gives you the full DOS
operating system.

One particularly even-handed feature
of the DOS 4.0 shell is the very fact that it
is optional. DOS 4.0 and whatever comes
after it are sure to become standards

continued

Photo 4:

Traveling
Software’s
ViewLink is the first
in a new
generation of
“intelligent DOS
shells, ” which let
you create custom
“views ” keyed to
your style of
working.

Photo 5: Magellan
uses proprietary
technology to
index the contents of
all files on your
disk. It also
specializes in
performing fuzzy
searches.

B Y T E IBM Special Edition • Fall 1989 111

LOOKING BEYOND THE DOS PROMPT

IIIMS DISC I SSI I)

Magellan.$195

Magellan Viewer Toolkit.$150

Lotus Development Corp.

55 Cambridge Pkwy.

Cambridge, MA 02142
(800) 635-6887
(617) 577-8500
Inquiry 1071.

Norton Commander 2.0 . $89

Peter Norton Computing
100 Wilshire Blvd., Ninth Floor
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(800) 365-1010
(213)319-2000
Inquiry 1072.

Tree86 . $89.95

The Aldridge Co.

2500 City West Blvd., Suite 575
Houston, TX 77042
(800) 548-5019
(713) 953-1940
Inquiry 1073.

TreeView . $50 registration fee

(shareware)

Magee Enterprises, Inc.

P.O. Box 1587
Norcross, GA 30091
(800) 662-4330
(404) 446-6611
BBS: (404) 446-6650
Inquiry 1074.

ViewLink . $149.95

Traveling Software, Inc.

18702 North Creek Pkwy.

Bothell, WA 98011
(800) 343-8080
(206) 483-8088
Inquiry 1075.

XTree . . $69.95

XTreePro . $129

XTree Co., a division of Executive
Systems, Inc.

4330 Santa Fe Rd.

San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
(800) 634-5545
(805) 541-0604
Inquiry 1076.

eventually, and it’s only a matter of time
before developers will take advantage of
new features that will require you to use
the latest and greatest DOS. But since
DOS shells differ so much, there’s still
going to be a hot market for add-in
shells, allowing users to choose the one
(if any) that they’re most comfortable
with.

3-2-1 Launch

Another important part of contemporary
DOS shell technology is the user’s abil¬
ity to point to a file and run it. There are
two parts to this equation: application
files and data files. As mentioned earli¬
er, most shells let you point and shoot at
any communications or executable file.
Things get more complicated when you
want to point to a data file and have it
start up its associated application. Mac¬
intosh users have had this ability for
years, because Mac data files have a
header that identifies the applications
that created them, but this feature hasn’t
been available for DOS. That’s one area
where GUIs shine, but that ability is now
slowly becoming available for DOS
users.

The Norton Commander and some
other DOS shells have a rudimentary
ability to associate data files with appli¬
cations through the simple process of
using common file extensions. For ex¬
ample, you can set up the Norton Com¬
mander to start up Lotus 1-2-3 every
time you choose a filename with a .WK1
extension, or Microsoft Word when you
choose a filename ending in .TXT. But
true associative file management is only
just beginning to become available with
intelligent DOS shells.

Adding Real Intelligence to DOS
with ViewLink

Perhaps the biggest problem with all the
DOS shells I’ve talked about so far is that
they force you to deal with the restric¬
tions of DOS’s set-in-cement hierarchi¬
cal file structure. Although directories
and subdirectories make lots of sense in¬
ternally to DOS, when you stop and
think about it, this linear way of working
just isn’t the way people work in the real
world. This is where intelligent shells go
a step further by associating data files to
their programs.

At first glance, both Traveling Soft¬
ware’s ViewLink and Lotus Develop¬
ment’s Magellan look a great deal like
standard DOS shells, but there’s more
there than meets the eye. These packages
are multifunction software that, in addi¬
tion to the features of standard DOS
shells, incorporate some of the features
of indexers, outliners, and even Macin¬
tosh HyperCard.

ViewLink links together your data and
applications using a concept called views
(not to be confused with viewing). Views
are categories of related data. The cru¬
cial concept of ViewLink is that it lets
you gather related data into groups based
on your work preferences instead of what
DOS forces you into.

ViewLink’s screen display (see photo
4) is one of those ubiquitous split-screen
views. It has the views (categories) on the
left, and files you’ve associated with the
views on the right. Initially, the views
are primarily subdirectory names. Be¬
cause the data files that you incorporate
into a view are automatically linked to
their associated programs, ViewLink has
a Macintosh-like ability to directly start

a program when you select the data file.

But in ViewLink’s very power lies a
paradox. Getting the most out of View-
Link requires a sizable time investment;
there’s a lot of work to do beyond the ini¬
tial automatic installation. To get the
most from the program, you have to
spend a great deal of time continuously
fine-tuning it. Having a sophisticated
DOS shell that can adjust itself to the way
you work sounds great, but the minus
side is that you have to take a hard look at
your work habits. You’ll eventually have
a system that acts like it’s a natural exten¬
sion of you, but it takes a commitment
that not everyone is willing to make.

The way ViewLink works is tightly
tied to specific applications. The instal¬
lation utility lists some 60 of the most
popular application programs. You tell
ViewLink which applications you’ll be
using, and it then goes through a multi¬
ple-step process that links data files to
views and applications, searching
through your entire hard disk. The end
result is a master link file that keeps
track of views, data files, and the appli¬
cations they’re linked to.

Since Traveling Software has applied
for a patent for the linking technology,
details on it aren’t available. But its so¬
phistication is just a harbinger of what
you can expect to see in future intelligent
DOS shells. For a hard disk filled with
nearly 50 megabytes of programs and
data, ViewLink’s master link file takes
up only about 130K bytes.

Magellan’s New World View

Magellan takes a different approach to
dealing with data. It treats your hard disk

continued

112 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

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juke simply, changing the world*
t’s revolutionizing office auto-
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Ts the backbone of information
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fhe information you need -

rhat-s why you need LmxW vRi n^
hc^ magazine that keeps you
ip to date on the rapidly chang
iig world of opemsystems
pniputing- Each issue brings
oil the latest product trends and
echnieal advances that can
iffect your business. The inside
aory on some of the worlds

If you’re into UNIX,

biggest high-tech companies.
Easy-to-understand program¬
ming tips and tutorials that can
help you and your company
use UNIX to its fullest. And
unbiased hardware and software
reviews to help you invest
wisely when you buy.

The whole UNIX-verse.

UsixWorli) s in-depth features go
beyond dry technical facts, to
show how die pieces fit together
— to tell you what’s important
about the advances and the
strategics diat are changing your
world. And UkixWorij) con¬
sistently offers the freshest, most
4own-to-earth writing you’ll
find in any computer publication.

Subscribe and Save . Subscribe
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UNIX WORLD

LOOKING BEYOND
THE DOS PROMPT

GIVE YOUR COMPUTER
A BETTER IMAGE!

When it conies to hand scanners, image is everything! niscan's
advanced image processing technology is well suited for desktop publish¬
ing, optical character recognition* and paint programs. All for under $300.

FULLY FEATURED!

Pass NlSCAN over any photograph, text or illustration and watch as a crisp,
clear image appears instantly on your screen. Then employ any of
niscan's advanced editing features to help transform the ordinaiy into
the extraordinary.

NlSCAN covers a full 42 inch path and has 6 software selectable dither pat¬
terns and 32 contrast levels. The NlSCAN package comes complete with
scanner, gem scan software, half card and helpful users guide.

NlSCAN IS COMPATIBLE!

NlSCAN runs on IBM PC/XT/AT* and compatibles. Image files are easily
used in most paint and publishing programs, including VENTURA pub-
usher*, ALDUS PAGEMAKER* and PC PAINTBRUSH + *,

Call I -800-245-SCAN today and let us tell you about optional optical char¬
acter recognition* image vectorization and image file conversion software.

For more informalton or the nearest NlSCAN dealer, call 1 ^800245-SCAN.

NlSCAN Is made by NISCA Incorporated, 1919 Old Denton Rd, #104, Canrollton, Texas 75006.
Product barms preceding are registered trademarks of their respective companies
Ail images displayed are NlSCAN output Dolor has bean added to soma d tha monochrome images

as a whole, creating a master index of all
files and their contents. Magellan also
uses a proprietary technology that Lotus
first used in its HAL AI interface to
Lotus 1-2-3. Although HAL was a com¬
mercial flop, the technology behind it
lives on. The Magellan index, which is
the key to its incredibly fast perfor¬
mance, creates an index file that normal¬
ly takes up only 5 percent to 10 percent of
the data space. In hopes of making Ma¬
gellan something of an “industry stan¬
dard" DOS shell, Lotus has just released
the Magellan Viewer Tool kit ($150). De¬
signed for applications developers, it lets
them integrate a Magellan viewer into
their finished software.

The most unusual feature of Magellan
is its use of custom viewers for popular
applications (see photo 5). It goes beyond
the limited file-viewing abilities of the
Norton Commander. Magellan’s inte¬
grated viewing technology lets you
quickly scroll through lists of files and
see most files as you’d see them within
the application. Magellan comes with 16
viewers that are automatically invoked,
because the files and applications are
linked to the correct viewers during the
installation process. Magellan even lets
you peek into binary files and shows cer¬
tain packed files (.ARC) in their un¬
packed state—instantly.

Magellan's index also links data files
and applications for quick launching.
And its other features are numerous, in¬
cluding the ability to do fuzzy searches
using plain-English phrases in an “ex¬
plore” function. This is DOS shell tech¬
nology taken to its current limits,

Hope for the GUI-Deprived

Although all the attention of computer
buyers seems focused these days on high-
end systems and which GUI to choose
(when, of course, they become generally
available), the continued proliferation of
products that enhance and extend plain-
vanilla DOS and make it easier to use
portends well for the numerous non¬
power users of non power systems. And
even many power users will find enough
features in these products to decide to
stay with DOS until they're compelled to
make the substantial investment in the
hardware and software for advanced sys¬
tems like OS/2. The reports of the death
of DOS are greatly exaggerated, ■

Stan Miastkowski is a BYTE consulting
editor, managing director of K+S Con¬
cepts (a documentation and consulting
firm), and editor of the OS Report news¬
letter. He can be reached on BIX as
stanm . ,J

114 Fall 1989 • BYTE IBM Special Edition

Circle 193 on Reader Service Card

■ PC Resource Magazine, “ZEOS... provides quality compar¬
able with IBM or Compaq and does so for about 70% of the
price”

Personal Computing, “ZEOS... is the best value we’ve come
across... its performance is right up there with the slickest ,
most expensive PCs you can buy’.'

I PC Magazine, “Don’t pass up the ZEOS... solid construction,
flexible design and escape-velocity performance make it a top
flight choice!’

ji InfoWorld, “We find the ZEOS 386 an excellent value. Speed:
Excellent. Compatibility: Excellent. Value: Excellent!’

■: PC Magazine Editors Choice, “The ZEOS 386 blows away
every other computer... a smart choice!’

The Choice is Clear.
Dial 800-423-5891

IBM is a registered trademark erf IBM Corporate m, Compaq is a registered \ redemark ■ rf Compaq C. fiijptitet
Corporation, ZEOS is a registered trademark of ZEOS International, l.td

Circle 2 73 on Reader Service Card

Your best reason
yet to move up to a
386. Now you can
own a complete
ZEOS 386SX
16MHz hard drive
system for less
than comparable
’286 systems.

The ZEOS
386SX. ZEOS
performance,
quality and
support. ZEOS
value. The Choice
is Clear.

If you plan to buy
a 16- or 20MHz 286 machine,
think again.

A fundamental change in
computing is about to take place.
Systems based on the 80286
processor will be replaced by
systems based on the 80386SX.

As America’s premier manu¬
facturer of 80386 based systems,
we’ve designed the new ZEOS
386SX to provide everyone with
a window to the future. A future
of ’386 speed and performance
at a fraction of what you would
expect to pay.

And ZEOS knows ’386 sys¬
tems better than anyone. After all,
PC Magazine chose ZEOS above
57 other companies for “For Over¬
all Excellence” in their recent ’386
Blockbuster issue.

The new ZEOS 386SX simply
runs circles around ’286 based
machines. PC magazine noted
that the ZEOS 16MHz 386SX
compares “favorably with the
20MHz '286 machines reviewed
in ‘The 80286: Unsafe at Higher
Speeds?”’ (PC Magazine, De¬
cember 27,1988).

So forget those 16- and 20MHz
’286machines forever. The ZEOS
’386SX-16 “blows ’em right out

of the water.” As PC Magazine
says, “386SX-based machines
are the right choice...” and the
new ZEOS 386SX is the right
choice for you.

30 Day Absolute Satisfaction
Guarantee. One Full Year
Limited Warranty.

If a company believes in their
product, they should stand Rock
Solid behind it. That’s why your
new ZEOS 386SX hard drive sys¬
tem includes our famous 30 Day
Absolute Satisfaction Money
Back Guarantee, One Full Year
Limited Warranty and Express
Parts Replacement Policy.

24 Hour a Day Sales and Toll
Free Technical Support!

And talk about service! ZEOS
is the only computer company in
America standing by ready to
help you Toll Free, 24 hours a day,
365days a year. Nobody supports
their customers like ZEOS!

Order your new ZEOS 386SX
now with confidence. Your choice
of ZEOS quality and performance
is Guaranteed. Order now by
calling 800-423-5891.

All prices and specificatiurta are subject to change without notice. Please tall for current pricing and warranty details.

116 Fall 1989 - B Y T E IBM Special Edition

Only $ 1695.

Price Barrier!

The New ZEOS
386SX Hard Drive
System. Below
’286 Prices!

Only $1,695

The future is now!

Why be left behind with yes¬
terdays 286 technology? This
fast new ZEOS 386SX system
k your high performance ticket
to '386computing power. It's
actually faster and yet less
expemive than comparable
’286systems .

^■1

lllllll _

■ 80386SX-16 CPU 8/16MHz
Dual Speed Keyboard Select¬
able. Reset/ Turbo Buttons.

■ 512K DRA M, expandable to
a System Total of 16MB.

■ Shadow RAM and EMS
capability

■ Fast 32MB Seagate 138R
Hard Drive with autopark,
1.2MB Teac floppy drive.

■ Ultra high speed Hard/
Floppy controller, 1:1 inter
leave, High Speed transfer

■ Genuine Hercules® brand
graphics controller. High-Res
Amber Display with Tilt/
Swivel.

■ ZEOS/RS Enhanced
Tactile/Click keyboard.

» 2 High Speed Serial Ports
plus me Parallel and one
Game Port.

■ 6-16, 2-8 bit expansion slots,
80387SX support.

■ Rugged ZEOS space saver
case . Security lock and LED
indicators,

■ Includes ZEOS 24 Hour a
Day Toll Free Technical
Support and Customer
Satisfaction package.

Order Now Toll Free

800-423-5891

FAX Orders Dial; 612-6334325
In Minnesota Call: 612-6334591
MasterCard, VISA, ZCARD, COD
Open 24 Hours a day, 365 Days
a year.

Circle 274 on Reader Service Card

BYTE1BM Special Edition - Fail 1989 ill

Complete ZEOS 20MHz 386
System. 80MB SCSI Drive!

Only $2995

16MHz systems from $2295!

The standard by which others
are measured! Featuring 64K
CACHE (twice that of most com¬
petitors) providing Zero- Wait
State performance vastly superior
to page/ interleave memory
schemes. Incredible Value.

■ High speed Zero- Wait 64K read
and write back SRAM CACHE.
The fastest method known ♦

■ Genuine 32-bit Intel80386-
20MHz CPU

■ 1MB of Zero- Wait DRAM
Expandable to 16MB.

■ Fast 80MB, 28ms SCSI

LULLl T F i IT T i ;

rtf

Seagate Hard Drive ; Tead*
1.2MB Floppy Drive ♦

■ High speed HDD/ FDD SCSI
Host Adaptor with Software.

* Genuine Hercules® brand
graphics controller. High-Res
Amber Display with TiltI
Swivel.

Performance Comparisons using PC Labs Benchmark Series
Release 4:

8038*

Instruction

Mix

Floating
i Feint
Calculation

Conventional

Memory

ZEOS 386/16 Desktop

358

13.62

0.58

ZEOS 386/20 Desktop

257

10.82

0.38

I BM PS/2 Model 70-E61

408

16.04

0.75

Compaq Desk pro 386/16

4 12

15.47

0:75

* 101 Key ZEOS Tactile/Click
keyboard ,

■ 2 High Speed Serial Ports plus
one Parallel and one Game port\

« 1-32, 616 and 1-8 bit slots.

■ 80387math coprocessor support.
« Rugged ZEOS 5-bay case.

Including Security Lock and
LED indicators.

■ Includes ZEOS 24 Hour a Day
Toll Free Technical Support and
Customer Satisfaction package.

Options Galore: Including 14 f f
VGA, add only $595. And an in¬
credible selection of hard drives:
SCSI, RLL f ESDIorMFM and
virtually any other add-on you
could want!

Order Now Toll Free

800-423-5891

FAX Orders Dial: 612 633 1325
In Minnesota Call: 612-6334591
MasterCard, VISA, ZCARD, COD
Open 24 Hours a day, 365 Days a year

All prices and specifications are subject to change without notice- Please call for current pricing and warranty details. ZEOS is a publicly traded company; MPLS/Sl ftml Local GTC.

118 Fall 1989 * BYTE IBM Special Edition

"‘Out of 104 machines from
58 companies...For overall
excellence we selected ZEOS
International’s 386-16 and 386-20?
PC Magazine, May 30,1989

The Editors of jPC Magazine
came to this conclusion after in¬
vesting “25,000 hours of work by
60 people testing and reviewing 104
’386 PCs? The review was thorough
and their conclusion specific. Simply,
that out of all the manufacturers in
the world, ZEOS offers you the very
best '386 Value.

In all areas, ZEOS machines
are top performers. With uncom¬
promising attention to quality and
detail throughout. Not only do
ZEOS systems themselves afford
you the very best Values in com¬
puting today, they're backed up by
the strongest after sales support
in the industry.

At ZEOS we feel that if a
company believes in its products
it should stand Rock Solid
behind them.

That’s why ZEOS offers Toll

I i

irni

EL. w

1 EDITORS
CHOICE

“Price is always a
consideration. So are
benchmark test results.
But both factors can be
deceiving, which is why
we consider them in the
context of other aspects
that will make the differ¬
ence months and years
down the road. Things like
quality of construction,
reliability, expandability,
and ease of service!’

PC Magazine, On “ What
Makes an Editor's Choice"

Free Technical Support 24
Hours a day, seven days a week,
365 days a year! At ZEOS, we
believe in standing by our cus¬
tomers whenever they need us.

Then add our 30 Day
Absolute Satisfaction Money
Back Guarantee, One Full Year
Limited Warranty and Express
Parts Replacement Policy. You've
got the best.

And when you order your ZEOS
'386 you can have your pick from
the industry's broadest selection of
options. As PC Magazine said, ZEOS
offers “more options than even
the most configuration hungry hound
could possibly need?

Quality, Performance, Reliability
and Support. Overall Excellence.
That's why ZEOS is PC Magazine's
#i choice. And that's why ZEOS is
your best choice as well . So pick out
that dream machine today and
order it now with confidence. Your
choice of ZEOS excellence is Guar¬
anteed. Order now by calling
800-423-589L

Complete 25MHz 386
Vertical System. 80MB
SCSI Drive!

Only $3995

Complete S3MHz systems
only $4995!

ZEOS 25MHz and 33MHz
80386systems are the fastest,
most advanced available any¬
where. Government Computer
News calls the ZEOS '386-33
^arguably the fastest MS-DOS
and OS/2 micro in the world!'
Review after review, these ZEOS
systems are selected as the best
price/performance buys . A power
user's dream!

■ Ultra High speed Zero-Wait
64K SRAM CACHE.

■ Genuine 32-bit Intel 2S&25
or33MHzCPU

■ 1MB of Zero- Wait DRAM
Expandable to 16MB .

■ Fast 80MB, 28ms SCSI
Seagate Hard Drive, Teac *
1,2MB Floppy Drive .

■ High speed HDD/FDD SCSI
Host Adaptor with Software.

Performance Comparisons using PC Labs Benchmark Series

80386

Instruction

Mix

Floating

Point

Coku lotion

Conventional

Memory

ZEOS 386/25 Desk fop

2.29

8.37

0,33

ZEOS 386/33 Desktop

1.67

6.43

0.27

IBM PS/2 Model A

227

0 33

0,60

Compaq Desk pro 366/25

2.36

8.59

0 37

©1989 ZEOS Imernatinnal. Ltd., 530 5th Avenue, NLW r , St, Haul, MN 55132- All product and company names are trademarks
or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

■ Genuine Hercules® brand
graphics controller. High-Res

A mber Display with Tilt/Swivel

■ BIOS and Video Shadow RAM
plus EMS support.

■ ZEOS Tactile/Click keyboard.

■ 2 High Speed Serial Ports plus
one Parallel and one Gameport.

■ 1-32,6-16 and 1-8 bit slots.

* 80387math coprocessor support

■ Rugged ZEOS 5-bay case .
Security Lock, LED indicators .

■ Includes ZEOS 24 Hour a Day
Toll Free Technical Support

Many options available; Including
14 ft VGA, add only $595. Plus a
large selection of SCSI RLL, ESDI
or MFM hard drives and more.

Order Now Toll Free

800-423-5891

Circle 275 on Reader Service Card

8 Y T E IBM Special Edition * Fall 1989 119

Right Now. Guaranteed!*

Yes, we can ship your new ZEOS" ’286or ’386
today! We’ve built up an extra supply of the hottest
selling computers in America. The celebrated
ZEOS 286-12 and PC Magazine’s Editors Choice—
the ultra fast ZEOS 386-20.

Take your pick now for immediate delivery.
These are both complete, genuine ZEOS Zero-Wait
state systems. Both include an ultra-fast Seagate
hard drive and all the other goodies. And they’re
ready to ship. Right Now.

Here’s how it works. We have these extra systems
pre-built and ready to ship. They include both High
Resolution Monochrome and VGA systems. While
supplies last, we will ship either of these systems to
you the day you onfersubject to these conditions:

1. Your order must be received by 1PM Central Time.

2. Credit Cards are subject to credit card authorization.

3. Orders must be for our standard 286-12MHz
system or 386-20MHz system, either mono¬
chrome or VGA. Any other systems or upgrades
are custom built and will take slightly longer.

* Our Guarantee to You:

If we fail to ship your system under the conditions
outlined, we will ship it at our expense as soon as it
is ready. All systems are fully burned in and tested.
Each system includes our 30 day Money Back
Guarantee and One Full Year Limited Warranty.
Phis 24 Houra day Toll Free technical su p port and
Ex press Parts Replacement are included tool
This offer is good only as long as these pre-built

Complete ZEOS 12MHz 786
with 32MB Hard Drive!

Only $1,395

For VGA color add $595

FREE Shareware Disks Too!
25 Software Programs Included
Every system will include 25
ready to run Shareware programs
on free disks. Included are
programs for Word Processing,
Spread Sheets, Educational
Financial Business, Games and
mom With Shareware you can
try the programs first before you
register them with the author
What a great idea!

Standard Features Include:

*80286-12 CPU 6/12MHz
Dual Speed keyboard/hard-
wam selectable. Reset and
Turbo buttons right up front
■ Zero-Wait State DRAM, 512K
expandable to 4MB on the
mother board (16MB System
Total), EMSCapability onboard.

Performance Comparisons using PC Labs Benchmark Series

Release 4;

80286

Inst ruction
Mix

Floating

Point

Calculation

Conventional

Memory

ZEOS 286/12 Desktop

4.78

18.84

0.72

IBM PC AT (SMHz)

8 96

35.60

1 32

IBM PS/2 Mode! 50

7 20

28.34

1.05

■ Fast 32MB Seagate 138R
Hard Drive with auto-park,
12MB Floppy Drive.

* Ultra high speed Hard/Floppy
controller. 1:1 interleave t 800
KB/sec transfer rate.

* Genuine Hercules® (Yes,
Hercules!) Brand graphics
card, HighRes Amber Display
with Tilt/Swivel Base,

* ZEOS Enhanced 101 Key
Keyboard with our Pleasant
Tactile/Click Feel.

■ Serial and Parallel Printer
Ports .

■ Clock/Calendar with Battery
Backup.

■ &16 and 2-8 bit expansum slots,

* 80287support, up to 12 MHz.

■ Heavy Duty Case Complete
with Security Lock and LED
indicators.

Order Now Toll Free

800-423-5891

Alt prices and specifications are subject to change without notice. Please call Idf current pricing and warranty details. COD orders may require an advance deposit. PS/2 and AT are trademarks of IBM Corporation.

120 Fall 1989 ■ B Y T E IBM Special Edition

systems remain in stock; please give us a call to
verify availability. This offer does not apply to other
ZEOS systems or custom configurations.

Immediate shipment is only part of the story.

ZEOS builds Rock Solid computers. That's why we
offer you our 30 Day Money Back Guarantee, Toll Free
technical support and Full One Year Limited Warranty.
Compare that to the others. Then compare performance.

Performance is what ZEOS is all about. If you're
buying a computer you may as well buy the fastest.
The ZEOS 286-12 is the fastest in its class. It features
true Zero-Wait state operation with speeds close to
many 386 systems!

Or select the ZEOS 386-20. The Editors of PC
Magazine did. In feet, they said “Out of 104 machines

from 58 companies... for overall excellence in both
the 16- and 20MHz categories, we selected ZEOS
International’s 386-16 and 386-20!’ And ZEOS '386
systems have racked up three PC Magazine Editors
Choice awards so far this year!

PC Resource Magazine put it this way “ZEOS
... provides quality comparable with the IBM or
Compaq and does so for about 70% of the cost!’
Personal Computing simply says “The best value
we’ve come across so far!’

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

And these are the machines that we have
ready to ship to you right now. Rock solid block
buster ZEOS machines with quality and perform¬
ance that is, in a word, Guaranteed. Order now by
calling 800-432-5891.

Complete ZEOS 20MHz '386
with 80MB 28ms SCSI Drive!

Only $2,995

For VGA color add $595

Standard Features
Include:

• Genuine 32-bit
Intel 80386-
20MHz CPU
■ High speed
Zero-Wait
64KSRAM
CACHE.

■ 1MB of
ZetthWait DRAM Expandable
to 16MB system total
■ Fast 80 MB, 28ms SCSI

Seagate Hard Drive 1 1.2MB
Floppy Drive.

• Ultra high speed Hard/Floppy
SCSI controller.

■ Genuine Hercules* Brand
graphics card. High-Res Amber
Display with Tilt/Swivel Base.

Performance Comparisons using PC Labs Benchmark Series

Release 4:

80386

Instruction

Mix

Floating

Point

Calculation

Conventional

Memory

ZEOS 386/20 Desktop

2.87

10.40

0.39

IBM PS/2 Model 70-121

3.24

12.72

0.61

Compaq Desk pro 3B6/20e

291

10.54

040

■ 101 Key ZEOS Tactile/Click
keyboard.

■ High speed Serial and
Parallel Ports .

■ F32,5-16 and 2-8 bit slots *

■ 80387math co-processor
support.

■ ZEOS 5-bay case with security
lock and LED indicators.

Order Now Toll Free

800-423-5891

FAX Orders Dial: 612-633-1325

In Minnesota Call: 612-633-4591

MasterCard, VISA, Z Card and COD

Open 24 Hours a day!

ZEOS International, Ltd.

530 5th Avenue, RW

St. Paul, MN 55112 USA

Qtskpro is a trademark erf Compaq Computer Corporation. Corporate leasing plans ate available. ZEOS is a publicly traded company: MPLS/St. Paul Local QTC C 1989 ZEOS International, Ltd.

Circle 276 on Reader Service Card B Y T E IBM Special Edition * Fall 1989 121

Terminal emulation doesn’t
have to be this way

We’ve all been there. Trying to remember whether the “Do” key is
really <Ctrl-Fl>. Or was it <Alt-Fl>? And the editing keypad.

Can you be absolutely sure you’re about to press the “Select” key
and not the “Remove” key?The results can be disastrous.

That’s why KEA developed the PowerStation.The PowerStation,
an exact VT200 layout keyboard bundled with VT240 or VT220
terminal emulation software, turns your IBM PC or compatible into
a key-by-key replica of a DEC terminal-without messy labels!

But what does that get you?

Peace of mind. The PowerStation keyboard takes the frustration
out of switching between a DEC terminal and a PC because
each key is right where you’d expect it to be And our “Gold Key”
version makes ALLIN -1 and WPS a breeze.

Savings. If you think you can’t afford both emulation software
anda keyboard, think again! The PowerStation can actually save
you money by eliminating the time you waste every day trans¬
lating between VT and PC keystrokes. And with the PowerStation,
startup training costs are virtually eliminated.

Consistency. The PowerStation keyboard provides a consistent
interface for both VT emulation and regular PC applications. In
emulation mode you get the 105-key functionality of a real DEC key¬
board and in PC mode you get a super enhanced keyboard. And
you can use the PowerStation on virtually any PC! Move between
an XT, AT, PS/2, AT&T PC and a DEC terminal without missing
a key stoke.

PowerStation and ZSTEM arc trademarks of KEA
Systems Ltd. All other brand and product names

are trademarks or registered trademarks of I

their respective holders.

The best in terminal emulation software. With the PowerStation
keyboard you get the fastest, most precise, DEC terminal emulation
software available: ZSTEM. You have the choice between two
popular software packages: ZSTEM 240, our VT241/VT340 graphics
emulator and ZSTEM 220, our VT220 text emulator. Both packages
will impress you with their speed and feature-by-feature accuracy.

To top it off, the PowerStation gives you all this at a surprisingly
low price. But find out for yourself why Digital Review Labs says
“the PowerStation 240 is a godsend.” Call us at 800-663-8702.

KEA Systems Ltd., 2150 West Broadway, Suite 412
Vancouver, B.C., Canada V6I< 4L9
Telephone: 604-732-7411 Fax: 604-732-0715

Circle 154 on Reader Service Card

IBM SPECIAL ISSUE

Using Expanded
Memory

Before you abandon DOS for other operating systems,
look to expanded memory

David M. Yancich

s application programs
become more powerful
and flexible, the demand
on system memory in¬
creases. When the sys¬
tem is based on real-mode, segmented-
addressing processors, such as the 80x86
family, that demand often results in the
640K-byte limit being exceeded. How¬
ever, if a large portion of the applica¬
tion’s memory requirement is
for data storage, there is a
simple remedy.

The Lotus/Intel/Microsoft
Enhanced Expanded Memory
Specification (LIM/EEMS)
can relieve much of the data
storage burden from conven¬
tional memory by providing
access to as much as 32 mega¬
bytes of additional memory.

Expanded Memory

The 80x86 processors, oper¬
ating in real mode, have phys¬
ical addressability to 1 mega¬
byte of memory. Although the
80286 and 80386 processors
have greater physical address- /
ing capabilities when operat¬
ing in OS/2 protected mode,
when running in real mode
they have the same 1-mega¬
byte limitation. EMS was de¬
veloped to allow real-mode
processing to have access to
additional memory. It uses a

act as gateways between the “physical”
window within the 1-megabyte space and
the “logical” memory that resides on the
expanded memory board. The device
driver, called the expanded memory
manager (EMM), controls the registers
so that a program’s memory accesses can
be redirected throughout the entire range
of available expanded memory. The
physical address window consists of a
minimum of 64K bytes of un¬
used contiguous memory-ad¬
dress space, accessible in four
16K-byte pages. Each page
can be individually addressed
and directed to any part of the
expanded memory, which is
also accessible in 16K-byte
pages (see figure 1).

A program that has not
been written specifically to
take advantage of expanded
memory will gain no benefit
from it, no matter how much
expanded memory you have
in your system. To access ex¬
panded memory, a program
needs to communicate with
the EMM for the purposes of
verifying hardware/software
functionality, allocating
memory, “mapping” physi¬
cal pages with logical pages
so that memory accesses are
routed to the proper place,
and deallocating expanded
continued

technique called paging , or bank switch¬
ing. Simply put, paging redirects mem¬
ory accesses within a 64K-byte, or
larger, window of the 1-megabyte physi¬
cal address space to memory outside of
that space. The requirements for ex¬
panded memory include additional hard¬
ware (in the form of bank-switching reg¬
isters) and a software device driver. The
bank-switch ing y _-^ 77 ; ^ registers

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Fall 1989 123

“We’re looking for
retired managers
who want to get
back into action!’

USING EXPANDED MEMORY

Harold W. McGraw, Jr.,

Chairman Emeritus, McGraw-Hill, Inc.

I'm a volunteer supporter of the Inter¬
national Executive Service Corps, a
not-for-profit organization with a vital
mission:

We send retired U.S. managers over¬
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In fact, developing countries consume
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IESC volunteer. I am a recently retired manager or
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I understand that volunteers receive expenses lor
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sap-

memory when you end the program.
Communication with the EMM is simi¬
lar to making calls to DOS. The program
sets up the proper CPU registers and
makes a software interrupt request (in¬
terrupt vector 0x67). More than 30 major
functions are defined by the LIM/EEMS
standard, and they give applications and
operating systems control over expanded
memory.

When a program allocates expanded
memory pages, the EMM returns a han¬
dle to the requesting program. This han¬
dle (integer value) is then used in future
calls to the EMM to identify which block
of logical pages is being manipulated.

Developing a C Library

Many of the programs that T have written
have been for real-time data acquisition
and data analysis, applications that re¬
quire substantial data buffer and data
array sizes. Storing this data in expanded
memory allows me to generate more
code to increase program functionality
and user friendliness.

I have developed and placed in the
public domain a library for use with
Microsoft C that has functions that dy¬
namically allocate and access expanded
memory, similar to C"s intrinsic mal-
loc() functions. There are several
issues that should be considered when de¬
veloping code that will access expanded

memory, and I will suggest some tech¬
niques that may be of interest.

First, you need the low-level functions
that allow the application code to com¬
municate with the EMM* The EMM is
accessed using software interrupt 0x67*
Most C compilers have functions that ex¬
ecute software interrupts. Microsoft C
includes several variations, of which
int86{) and int86x() provide all the
proper register passing required to exe¬
cute the EMM (see listing 1). The func¬
tions I will describe were developed
using this method. So, while developing
these functions is essential to all subse¬
quent steps, the work has largely been
done* Complete details of the EMM
functions are available from Intel (EMS)
and AST Research (EEMS)*

When I was writing my programs, I
wanted to allocate expanded memory in
a manner similar to allocating standard
memory using the malloc() functions. I
therefore needed a function that would
check for memory availability, allocate
the desired number of pages, and return
some type of information to inform the
program of the results. But unlike with
malloc(), more information than an ad¬
dress would be necessary. The function,
which I call xpmalloc(), returns a
pointer to a structure that contains the in¬
formation shown in listing 2. As with

continued

PHYSICAL AND LOGICAL LAYOUTS

Window size depends on EMM version
and hardware instated

960K

768K
640K

256K

Page frame area ^

for expanded memory -
access

{four 16K-byte pages} s

Bank¬
switching
registers \

Application space

Program accesses
data by using a far
pointer to high
memoiy

Physical memory

Logical page (16K bytes)

Total installed
expanded memory

Maximum to 32
megabytes

Logical memory

Figure 1: Bank-switching registers direct data traffic between physical and logical
memory areas *

in wftai publics lion did you see this ad?__MiJ

124 Fall 1989 - BYTE IBM Special Edition

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USING EXPANDED MEMORY

Listing 1; Low-level functions
like this one allow communication
between applications and the
expanded memory manager.

(Get Status - function 1)

#include <dos,h>

^define IAH lnflegs.h.ah

#define OAH QutRegs.h.ah

^define XPHINT 0x67
^define GETSTATUS 0x40

union REGS inRegSjOutReis;

int getStstus()

IAH = GETSTATUS;

lnt86(XFMINT t MriHegs, koutRegs);

return(OAH);

}

standard memory allocations, the re¬
quested amount of expanded memory is
reserved by calling this function, but ac¬
cess requires slightly more preparation.

The next issue to consider is the size of
your largest memory allocations and ac¬
cesses. There are two possibilities: sizes
greater than the physical window size
(64K bytes) and sizes less than 64K
bytes. To access expanded memory, the
physical and logical pages first have to be
mapped. Since the size of the physical
window is 64K bytes, access to data ele¬
ments greater than that requires new log¬
ical pages to be mapped into the window
space.

From a programming aspect, this re¬

Listing 2: Expanded memory is allocated using a variant of the malloc()
functions . The function xpmalloe () returns a pointer that contains memory -

a llocation inform at ion.

typedef struct typxpmalloc {

char #dataFtr;
struct typhandlepages (

/ * Pointer to data (pageFrame) */

unsigned int handle;

/“ Expanded memory handle */

unsigned int pagesAlloced;

} xpmld;

/* Number of pages allocated *1

unsigned int topLoglealPage;

/■ First logical page mapped */

unsigned long totalSize;

/ft Total memory required »/

unsigned int accessedFlag;

} typXPKALLOC;

/ft Structure mapped flag ft/

Figure 2: A conventional memory access for element (64K bytes / sizeof
(element)) + 1 would have an address that points outside the physical window.

quires that the index into the data be con¬
stantly monitored so that if it crosses the
64K-byte boundary, the proper page re¬
mapping can occur. If the data size is less
than 64K bytes, this is not a concern. As
four 16K-byte pages can be mapped at a
single time, direct access to 64K-byte
memory can occur without the need to
remap pages. Obviously, there is a trade¬
off between performance and array size,

I decided to develop two functions that
would take care of page mapping and
boundary checking when used with data
arrays larger than 64K bytes: one for
reading data, and one for writing data.
The parameters passed to these functions
are the data item index, the data value
(writing) or pointer-to-data variable
(reading), and a pointer to the xpmalloe
structure, which was returned by xpmal-
loc(). The values in the xpmalloe
structure are used in the boundary-
checking algorithms and page-mapping
procedures.

The functions must be defined for a
specific data type so that an element size
is known. For example, if the data is to
be an array of float, the functions
would use (sizeof (float) * index) to
determine if the 64K-byte boundary has
been crossed. If the boundary is crossed,
new logical pages must be mapped into
the physical window.

The next starting logical page number
can be calculated by ((s izeof (float) #
index) / PAGE5IZE), where PAGESIZE
— 16K bytes. This new logical page, and
all higher logical pages allocated to this
array, are then mapped into the physical
window, allowing access to data ele¬
ments beyond the 64K-byte boundary.

It's important to be aware of how page
remapping changes the effective index
into the data array. Since the physical
window consists of 64K bytes of contigu¬
ous address space, a conventional mem¬
ory access for element (64K bytes /
s izeof (element)) + 1 would have an
address that points outside the physical
window. Because the new logical page
was mapped into the window starting at
the first physical page, the effective
index for that element is 0 (see figure 2).

My data-accessing functions use a
simple mod operation (index % 64K
bytes) to calculate the proper physical
address associated with the passed index
parameter. When programs use these
functions, every data access is checked
for boundary integrity, causing a perfor¬
mance penalty. However, if the data
array must be larger than 64K bytes and
the application needs to access the entire
array in a random order, the trade-off

continued

126 Fal I 1989 * B Y T E IBM Special Edition

MEDITERRANEAN SEA

f your own

cZri* hav

£«!*&!%,

e,,enc CADD Sr

■sirtsfef

Generic CAOD, CADDalog and Sneak Preview are trademarks of Generic Software, Inc. 11911 North Creek Parkway South, Bothell, VVA 9S011 800# valid in bath U.S. and Canada

Circle 117 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS: US)

USING EXPANDED MEMORY

Listing 3: Allocating and
accessing a 32K-byte integer array
(within the physical window size
limit—extended-memory-manager
functions assumed available).

Initialize

*» Code to access expanded memory.

Int numOfPages;
int total,available;
int handle;

** 32K array / 16K PAGESIZE
*/

numOfPages » 2;

/# Function 3

** Check for available pages
*# returns: total pages and
available pages

numAvailPages(&total,&available)

/*If there are available pages */
if (available > numOfPages)

/# Function 4

** Reserve expanded memory pages
## returns: expanded memory handle
*/

allocatePages(numOfPages,^handle);

}

/* Function 2

Get pageFrame address
** returns: segment address of
physical window

»/

getPageFrameAddr(&pageFrame);

** Integer array address will be
#* address of EMM window (pageFrame)

»/

intPtr * (int »)pageFrame;

** Function 5 - map individual pages
*» Point to proper logical pages

»/

for (i*0;i<2;i-H-)

physicalPageNum * i;
logicalPageNum = i;
mapPage(physicalPageNum,
logicalPageNum,handle);

** Access data
*/

for (1=0;i<1000;1++)

#lntPtr++ = i;
- OR -

intPtr[i] = i;

/»

** Function 6 - Deallocate pages
*# Release allocated pages
*/

releasePages(handle);

favors the boundary-checking function.

When you use expanded memory allo¬
cations with third-party memory func¬
tions, remember that these functions
expect to have access to contiguous ad¬
dresses. No logical page mapping can be
performed externally. Thus, access is
strictly limited to physical window size.

Again, in cases where the size of the
data is less than 64K bytes, you don’t
have to do any boundary checking. All
required pages can be mapped, and ac¬
cess can occur. Limiting data sizes to the
window size is the most straightforward
way to access expanded memory. Listing
3 shows an example of allocating and ac¬
cessing a 32K-byte integer array (within
the physical window size limit, with the
EMM functions assumed available).

Allowing multiple data allocations has
an effect on the page mapping. If only
one data allocation is involved, and it is
less than 64K bytes, you can map the
pages once and forget about them without
incurring any further performance pen¬
alty. Clearly, this is the simplest and
most direct access of expanded memory.

If multiple allocations are involved,
and their sizes are less than 64K bytes,
logical pages should be mapped before
access and unmapped after access (un¬
mapping protects the data from inadver¬
tent accesses). This creates a perfor¬
mance penalty when random accesses to
different arrays are required. To reduce
this penalty, as many continuous ac¬
cesses to a single array as possible should
be performed before the pages are re¬
mapped for a different array access. If
both size and multiple allocations are in¬
volved, you incur the greatest penalty
from the combination of boundary
checks and page mapping.

The xpmalloc structure includes an
integer member, accessedFlag, that in¬
dicates which data allocation is currently
mapped. If the same array is accessed
several times in a row, the check for this
flag will reduce page mappings and im¬
prove performance. Another point to re¬
member when you’re allocating ex¬
panded memory is deallocation. When
your program terminates, all allocated
logical pages must be deallocated, or
they will be inaccessible for future use
until the system is rebooted.

Specific Specifications
The latest expanded memory specifica¬
tions are EMS 4.0 and EEMS 3.2. These
two versions offer several benefits that
greatly enhance their use. The major en¬
hancement to both specifications over
earlier versions is the ability to have
larger physical address windows. This

removes the 64K-byte direct-data-access
limitation and allows direct access up to
the window size.

The window size will vary from sys¬
tem to system, depending on the amount
of unused contiguous address space. Ac¬
cess to a larger window cannot be accom¬
plished by installation of the later version
of the EMM alone; an expanded memory
board that supports larger windows (i.e.,
has more bank-switching registers) is
also required. Use EMS function 25 (Get
mappable physical address array) or
EEMS function 33 (Get standard physi¬
cal window array) to determine the max¬
imum window size that is available in
your system.

Along with larger windows in high
memory (above 640K bytes), mapping
into conventional memory-address space
is allowed, but this technique was actu¬
ally included for operating-system ac¬
cess. Several functions available in the
latest versions of the specifications offer
enhanced capabilities, such as easy ma¬
nipulation of memory—both expanded
and conventional—and multiple page
mapping with a single call.

For example, EMS function 24 pro¬
vides memory move/exchange capabili¬
ties without page mapping. I found this
function useful in saving screen images
to expanded memory when developing a
“windowing” user interface. EMS func¬
tion 17 will map all pages within the
physical window size in one call, which
is useful in reducing the performance
penalties in page remapping. Some bene¬
fits of the latest versions of the specifica¬
tions require supporting hardware, but
some do not. If you have earlier versions
of the hardware, you can still install
EMM updates and gain some benefits.

The expanded memory specifications
have been around for several years, but
until recently their use has seemed some¬
thing of a black art known only to major
application or operating-system develop¬
ers. Today, many well-known and not-
so-well-known applications have begun
to exploit expanded memory and the
EMM functions. If your application is
knocking on the 640K-byte door, before
you decide to move to OS/2 or other op¬
erating systems, give expanded memory
a look. ■

Editor’s note: Source code in C for the
memory-allocation functions library is
available on disk and on BIX. See page 3
for details.

David M. Yancich is a systems consultant
in Baltimore. He can be contacted on BIX
c/o “editors. ”

128 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

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Circle 49 on Reader Service Card

IBM SPECIAL ISSUE

Serving
Many Masters

New microcomputer bus architectures let multiple devices
control input and output in a system

Brian T. Anderson and Marcy A. Puhnaty

erhaps the biggest per¬
formance bottleneck in a
microcomputer is the I/O
bus. In most machines,
the CPU must handle
data transfers between peripherals and
memory. This keeps the CPU from per¬
forming its more sophisticated process¬
ing chores and therefore degrades system
throughput. Recently, however, new I/O
architectures have been intro¬
duced that allow peripherals
to take control of the bus.

Called bus masters , these in¬
telligent peripherals represent
a significant advance in per¬
sonal computer design.

Processors and Buses
Since the introduction of the
IBM PC in 1981, changes in
personal computing technol¬
ogy have focused on the CPU
and the architecture of the
I/O, CPU technology has mi¬
grated from the 4.77-MHz
8088/8086 to the 80286, with
clock speeds of up to 20 MHz,
and now to the 80386, with
clock speeds of up to 33 MHz .

The next plateau, 80486 tech¬
nology, is fast approaching.

But because a system is only
as fast as its slowest part,
faster processors alone cannot
ensure faster systems. Im¬
provements in I/O technology

existing peripheral devices and applica¬
tions software.

The Evolving Standard

The most common microcomputer I/O
bus architecture is the Industry Standard
Architecture. ISA is an 8-MHz bus with
24-bit direct memory access (DMA),
providing 16 megabytes of addressable
memory. It was introduced with an 8-bit
data path by IBM in the XT.
The second version, with both
an 8-bit and a 16-bit data
path, appeared in 1984 in the
AT. The ISA bus in the AT is a
superset of the ISA bus in the
XT, so all peripheral devices
compatible with the XT are
also compatible with the AT.
Billions of dollars have been
spent on peripheral devices
for this architecture.

The need for an improved
PC bus architecture was
prompted by the introduction
of the 80386 processor. The
increase in CPU performance
that this chip engendered led
IBM to introduce the Micro
Channel architecture in 1987
with the PS/2 line of personal
computers. MCA is a 10-MHz
bus with 24-bit DMA, provid¬
ing 16 megabytes of address¬
able memory. It also features
a 32-bit data path. MCA is not

continued

are also critical in improving system
performance.

The evolution of the I/O bus architec¬
ture in microcomputers hasn’t been as
straightforward as the evolution of
CPUs. It is much harder to speed up the
bus than it is to speed up the CPU. You
do gain some performance benefits by
simply speeding up the bus, but you also
run the risk of losing compatibility with

B Y T E IBM Special Edition « Fall 1989 131

SERVING MANY MASTERS

compatible with the existing ISA stan¬
dard and therefore will not support any
of the existing ISA peripheral devices.

As an alternative to MCA, microcom¬
puter manufacturers formed a consor¬
tium in October 1988 to establish a new
bus architecture that would maintain
compatibility with the ISA bus while pro¬
viding for the advanced features intro¬
duced by MCA. The result is the Ex¬
tended Industry Standard Architecture.

EISA is an 8-MHz bus with 32-bit

DMA, providing 4 gigabytes of address¬
able memory. The consortium—the so-
called Gang of Nine—consists of AST
Research, Compaq, Epson America,
Hewlett-Packard, NEC Information Sys¬
tems, Ing. C. Olivetti & Co., Tandy,
Wyse Technology, and Zenith Data Sys¬
tems. Intel has announced the availabil¬
ity of the EISA chip set, and EISA ma¬
chines should be available later this year.

In addition to 32-bit data paths, MCA
and EISA both feature notable advances

Maxon MVGA-16 m adapter

• Total compatibility A

with IBM's VGA® in
hardware and software'

• No drivers needed for
standard VGA modes

• 16 bit
AT 00 design-
auto-detects
and adapts to 8 bit
PC® or XT™ slots

• Super font capability

• Fast RAM and 1-to-l
memory access inter¬
leave with CPU

• Total hardware and soft¬
ware emulation of EGA®,
CGA®, MDA® and Hercules®

• 132 column modes - display
on standard VGA monitors

• Large selection of drivers for
super VGA modes

• Extended modes/colors:
800x600 /16, 640x400 / 256,
1024x768/4 (standard 256K
card - upgradable in the field
to 512K)

See the MVGA-16 at Maxon's COM¬
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World Drive, Dept 777, Kansas City,
MO 64153 - Tech. Info. 800 / 262-4627,
Sales/Orders 816 / 891-1093

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SYSTEMS INCORPORATED

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and 1024x768 /16 modes

The following are tradenames or registered tradenames
of the companies listed: IBM, PC, XT, AT, VGA, EGA,
CGA, and MDA - International Business Machines
Corp.; Hercules - Hercules Computer Technology, Inc.;
and MVGA-16 - Maxon Systems, Inc.

Circle 169 on Reader Service Card

132 Fall 1989 • BYTE IBM Special Edition (DEALERS: 170)

over ISA. These include switchless auto-
configuration, bus mastering, and burst-
mode transfer. Of these, bus mastering is
the most intriguing and promises the
greatest performance benefits over the
long term.

Basics of Bus Mastering
Put simply, a bus master is an intelligent
device—typically, a microprocessor—
that interfaces to the system bus and has
the ability to control the transfer of data
across that bus without intervention from
the CPU. Since the CPU is not used for
bus management, the bus master can op¬
erate in parallel with the CPU to transfer
data across the bus at high speeds. This
differs from the standard ISA I/O bus ar¬
chitecture, where the CPU controls all
bus activity with the exception of DMA.
In the case of DMA, devices that are at¬
tached to the bus transfer data directly to
main memory using the system’s DMA
controller instead of the CPU.

All peripheral devices attached to the
bus are categorized as either masters or
slaves. Whereas a master can take con¬
trol and own the bus, a slave device must
use the CPU to manage all bus transac¬
tions. Slave devices are serviced by the
CPU only after a request is made via an
interrupt signal. This signal notifies the
CPU that the slave device needs it and the
bus for a transaction. In ISA-based
microcomputers, all peripheral devices
are slaves; the CPU is the only master.

A bus master can play either of two
roles in a computer system: It can be ded¬
icated to handling specific tasks, or it
can be a general-purpose processor.
Typically, task-oriented bus masters are
peripheral devices that perform high-
performance tasks such as graphics, net¬
work control, and data acquisition. Gen¬
eral-purpose bus masters are typically
coprocessor peripherals. A coprocessor
peripheral acts like the CPU so that the
system work load can be shared or split
between the two.

Sharing Control

A system bus can effectively support
multiple bus masters by implementing a
bus-arbitration mechanism in the bus-
control circuitry. Bus arbitration selects
and grants control of the bus to a bus
master. When several bus masters are
contending for control of the bus at the
same time, a central arbiter mediates the
requests according to assigned priority
levels. Depending on the implementa¬
tion, priority levels might be assigned ac¬
cording to slot identification number or
location, or the priority information

continued

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SERVING MANY MASTERS

might be stored on the bus-master board,
as in the case of MCA. In this way, no
bus master can control the bus for indefi¬
nite periods of time.

Bus architectures provide several sig¬
nals to facilitate bus arbitration. Bus
masters use these signals to request con¬
trol of the bus and to determine if the
request has been granted. Although bus-
arbitration signals vary across archi¬
tectures, all perform the same general
function. For example, AST Research’s
SMARTslot architecture provides a very
simple approach to bus arbitration.
SMARTslot was one of the first ISA-
compatible bus architectures to support
bus mastering through the use of addi¬
tional connectors added to the bus slot.
Under SMARTslot, each slot has its own
dedicated set of bus-arbitration signals:
bus request, bus grant, and a shared bus
busy signal. To request control of the
bus, the bus master sends a request by as¬
serting its unique bus-request line. The
bus arbiter on the system board then de¬
termines which requesting bus master
has the highest priority level. Bus control
is then granted to the winning bus master
by asserting that board’s unique bus-

bus master can take
complete control
of the system bus
in order to transfer
data to main memory.

grant line. When the bus master detects
the bus-grant line, it asserts the bus busy
signal to indicate that the bus is in use.

The Mastering Advantage

To assess the relative merits of bus mas¬
tering versus standard ISA bus commu¬
nications, consider how each method
transfers data to main memory. With
ISA, the CPU controls the entire transac¬
tion. First, the CPU performs a read to

the peripheral device to obtain the infor¬
mation to be transferred. It then writes
that information to main memory. Thus,
the transfer requires two bus cycles: one
for the read and one for the write. With a
bus master, however, only one bus cycle
is needed to transfer the data to main
memory, and the CPU is bypassed alto¬
gether. With a bus master, only the write
operation requires use of the bus. In
theory, use of a bus master doubles the
data transfer rate for this operation.

Another important advantage of the
newer PC I/O bus architectures is the
ability of bus masters to perform burst
transfers. Burst-mode operation allows a
bus master to transfer a block of data
during a single arbitration cycle. For ex¬
ample, 16 bytes of data can be trans¬
ferred in one block using burst mode
with MCA, as opposed to just 2 bytes
under normal data transfer operations.
Because the bus master operating in
burst mode is transferring data in larger
blocks, it can complete its transfer in less
time and relinquish control of the bus
faster so it can be used by other system
devices. Bus masters initiate burst mode

continued

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134 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Circle 279 on Reader Service Card

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it! feeds on the competition*

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(DEALERS: 300)

SERVING MANY MASTERS

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record can be accessed through as many as eight different keys. Unlimited records per
file. Add indexes to existing BASIC random files without modifying them.

Furthermore, our comprehensive manual and “Pop-up On-line Help" implemented
through a TSR utility, along with sample source programs, make BASIC Tools easy to
learn. Also, your applications are royalty free.

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BASIC. €' Copyright 1989 Finalsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Finalsoft is a registered trademark of Finalsoft Corporation. IBM. PC XT.
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of Microsoft Corporation.

136 Fall 1989 •

in different ways. With MCA, for exam¬
ple, bus masters request burst mode via
the burst signal on the bus.

Bus-master technology permits a com¬
pletely open bus. It allows a bus master to
take complete control of the system bus in
order to transfer data to main memory or
to other peripheral devices attached to
the bus. For example, communication
can occur directly between a bus-master
network controller and the system's hard
disk-controller interfaced to the system
bus. Communication between intelligent
devices attached to an ISA-based system
can occur only via the central processor.
Depending on the bus implementation,
the CPU could continue to handle other
system tasks while the bus-master device
has control of the system bus. Such is the
case with MCA. This functionality fa¬
cilitates multitasking by providing an ef¬
fective foundation in hardware to distrib¬
ute processing. Specific tasks normally
performed by the CPU can now be off¬
loaded to the bus master.

To gain a better understanding of the
benefits provided by bus mastering and
burst-mode transfers, you need to exam¬
ine the specific implementations of this
technology.

Bus Flavors

Bus-master technology is an integral
part of numerous bus architectures. In
the microcomputer world, you can find
hardware support for bus masters on
IBM’s MCA, AST's SMARTslot archi¬
tecture, and the NuBus architecture most
notably used by Apple’s Macintosh II.
Machines using the EISA bus, expected
late this year, will also support bus-mas¬
tering technology. Each of these buses
approach the implementation of bus-
master technology in different ways to
accommodate unique objectives.

Although not a complete implementa¬
tion, the original ISA has a provision for
another bus master aside from the CPU.
This feature is implemented by a special
signal on the ISA bus called MASTER.
A bus master takes control of the ISA bus
by first issuing a DMA request (DRQ) to
a DMA channel. Upon receiving a DMA
acknowledge (DACK), the bus master
brings the MASTER line low. It now has
complete control of the system address,
data, and control lines. Data transfers
can now be made without the help of the
CPU, thus saving clock cycles.

Since the ISA bus architecture con¬
tains no arbitration circuitry in hard¬
ware, the mediation of requests between
multiple bus masters and the automatic
transfer of bus control to an alternate bus

continued

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Circle 103 on Reader Service Card
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©Copyright 1989 RainbowTechnologies. Inc. All product names are trademarks of their respective manufacturers.

SERVING MANY MASTERS

ever, some of these fixed priorities can
be changed through programming. MCA
supports up to 16 bus masters.

ISA Extensions

AST Research’s SMARTsiot architec¬
ture is a fully compatible 16-bit ISA bus
extended with additional signals to sup¬
port multiple bus masters. Arbitration
control is centralized in the system’s bus-
control circuitry, and arbitration prior¬
ity-level assignments are fixed according
to slot location. Each slot has its own
unique arbitration signals for communi¬
cating with the central arbiter. Up to
three bus masters are supported in addi¬
tion to the CPU.

The EISA bus, like SMARTsiot, is a
fully compatible extension of the ISA
bus. It supports multiple bus masters as
well as a 32-bit data path, enhanced
DMA functions, burst-mode transfers,
and switchless auto-configuration. Arbi¬
tration on the EISA bus is also central¬
ized on the system’s bus controller. Arbi¬
tration priority levels are fixed, and each
one has its own line to signal requests for
bus control on a rotational basis. Figure 1
illustrates the EISA rotational arbitration
sequence. Note that a three-way rotation
occurs between DMA, DRAM refresh,
and all other devices in the arbitration
scheme. DMA is given some preference
to provide for compatibility with existing
ISA DMA devices. It is important to note
that although EISA is an open specifica¬
tion, all participating vendors are under
nondisclosure on the specifics of the
specification until the first EISA ma¬
chines are released.

NuBus

NuBus is a true arbitrated system bus in¬
dependent of the CPU. NuBus uses a dis¬
tributed arbitration protocol like MCA
and also supports an arbitration fairness
scheme. Once a bus master has been
granted control of the bus and subse¬
quently releases it, this bus master can¬
not arbitrate for the bus again until all
other requests have been serviced. Nu¬
Bus also provides bus and resource lock¬
ing signals to enhance the use of bus mas¬
ters for multiprocessing applications.

Bus-Master Peripherals

Although bus mastering is relatively new
to personal computers, it has been imple¬
mented on some peripherals. Some rep¬
resentative examples follow.

Even though the ISA bus does not effi¬
ciently support bus masters, some third-
party board makers have designed add-in
boards that make use of this feature.

continued

138 Fall 1989 • B Y T E IBM Special Edition

THE EISA ARBITRATION SEQUENCE

Channel 0
Channel 1
Channel 2
Channel 3
Channel 4
Channel 5
Channel 6
Channel 7

Master 0 M Master 1

Master 5

Master 2

Master 4 v*- Master 3

Figure l:The round-robin priority scheme allows bus masters to gain control
of the bus while maintaining compatibility with current ISA direct-memory-access
peripherals.

master cannot occur. Therefore, only
one bus-master board can reside on the
ISA bus. This bus master cannot transfer
blocks of data under burst mode, as can
MCA or EISA. An ISA bus master is
limited to transferring 2 bytes per cycle.
The lack of burst mode and the exclusion
of bus arbitration on the ISA architecture
has inhibited development of boards op¬
erating as bus masters for the ISA bus.

The MCA

IBM’s MCA extends the CPU’s local bus
to provide an easy interface to the outside
world. In this way, it is quite similar to
the ISA bus. MCA, however, has many
additional features, including support
for bus masters and a 32-bit data path.

Bus arbitration on the MCA is distrib¬
uted, meaning all contending bus mas¬
ters play a role in the arbitration process.
When a bus master wants to take control
of the bus, it first drives the arbitration
request signal (PREEMPT). When the

previous bus master is finished with its
data transfer, the central arbiter recog¬
nizes the PREEMPT line and then drives
the arbitrate/grant (ARB/GNT) line into
arbitration state. When the ARB/GNT
line goes to the arbitration state, the bus
master places its priority-level identifica¬
tion into the arbitration cycle on the four
arbitration lines: ARBO, ARBI, ARB2,
and ARB3. Each bus-master device then
monitors these signals. If a bus master
detects a priority level higher than its
own, it removes itself from the arbitra¬
tion cycle. At the end of the arbitration
cycle, the ARB/GNT line changes state
from high to low, thereby granting con¬
trol of the bus to the bus master with the
highest priority.

MCA also supports a fairness feature
to prevent higher-priority devices from
retaining indefinite control over the bus.
It is important to note that priorities for
system devices in MCA, such as DMA
channels, are fixed in hardware. How-

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Designed a 65,000 sq. tt nursing home using DesignCAD

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Circle 14 on Reader Service Card

SERVING MANY MASTERS

PC SALES FORECAST BY BUS ARCHITECTURE

□ EISA □ MCA □ XT/AT

Figure 2: Bus-mastering technologies are expected to account for half of
microcomputer sales in 1994 . (Source: InfoCorp)

Racet Computes Ltd. (3150 East Birch
St., Brea, CA 92621, (714) 579-1725)
manufactures the RCP host adapter for
SCSI or ESDI subsystems. By imple¬
menting the bus-master feature of the
ISA bus, the RCP host adapter is capable
of transferring data at a minimum of
850K bytes per second across the bus by
eliminating the involvement of the CPU
in data transfers. The RCP accomplishes
bus mastering through the use of firm¬
ware on the board and software drivers.

BICC Data Networks (1800 West Park
Dr., Westborough, MA 01581, (508)
898-2422) produces the Isolan 4110-3
Ethernet bus-master controller for MCA.
The Isolan board is one of the first MCA
cards available that takes advantage of
bus-master technology. It is unique in
that it supports bus mastering without the
use of a microprocessor.

According to engineers at BICC, the
arbitration control and burst-mode trans¬
fers can be effectively implemented
using programmable array logic chips
and the MCA bus-controller chip on the
expansion board. Their MCA Ethernet
controller can transfer 16-byte blocks at
one time using bus mastering and burst
mode, versus the 2-byte maximum on an
ISA bus. The board’s ability to transfer
data in larger blocks allows it to complete
its transfers in a shorter period of time.
This means that the controller’s require¬
ment for bus bandwidth is reduced, and
the bus is more frequently available for
use by other devices and the CPU.

Ironically, BICC developed its MCA
Ethernet bus-master controller before it
developed an ISA bus version. Although

the card was designed from scratch spe¬
cifically for MCA, BICC converted it to
act as a bus-master Ethernet controller
for the ISA bus.

IBM demonstrated a prototype gener¬
al-purpose bus-master peripheral device
code-named Wizard at Uniforum in Feb¬
ruary. Wizard is an accelerator card that
uses the Intel 80860 RISC processor.
IBM equipped a PS/2 Model 80 with the
Wizard board and OS/2 to compare its
performance against the Sun Microsys¬
tems Sun-4/110 workstation and the Sili¬
con Graphics Iris-4D workstation. IBM
representatives claimed a performance
improvement of 30 times that of the Sun
workstation and eight times that of the
Iris workstation for computational and
graphics processing. IBM has also devel¬
oped a System/370 general-purpose bus-
master adapter for its PS/2 computers.

Although IBM is not actively market¬
ing the product, it is available upon re¬
quest. The System/370 card allows the
PS/2s to run System/370 software.

IBM demonstrated a number of task-
specific bus-master cards at 1988’s Fall
Comdex. Among them was a SCSI adapt¬
er card that could simultaneously control
several SCSI hard disk drives. It was de¬
veloped by IBM to demonstrate the bene¬
fits of bus mastering. IBM also demon¬
strated Texas Instruments’ bus-master
Token Ring adapter, which took over
most network management duties from
the CPU. IBM representatives claim that
this technology lets the CPU in a PS/2
operate at 70 percent to 75 percent effi¬
ciency, since it will not have to deal with
network management chores.

It is very important to note that there
have been no formal announcements in
the operating-system or applications soft¬
ware arenas with respect to support for
bus masters. When available, this sup¬
port will provide greater increases in sys¬
tem performance than what is provided
by hardware alone.

The Road from Here

As is typical in the microcomputer indus¬
try, I/O hardware technology is far
ahead of available peripheral and soft¬
ware support. Lack of support has lim¬
ited immediate user demand for the new
technology and has created a reluctance
on the part of peripheral and software de¬
velopers to embrace the new I/O bus
technologies. Despite this lack of imme¬
diate support, bus architecture and bus
mastering have become important issues
to people making microcomputer pur¬
chasing decisions. The reason is that I/O
bus technology can greatly affect the
longevity of the system you buy.

The new bus technologies are a hard¬
ware foundation for the future. As pe¬
ripheral and software support for the
new I/O architectures builds, the bene¬
fits of bus mastering and burst transfers
will be apparent. Bus mastering provides
a way to protect your investment in
microcomputer technology while taking
advantage of new technologies. In the
short term, bus masters will first make a
dent in networking, data acquisition, and
graphics applications. In turn, these pio¬
neer products will sell more bus-master¬
ing machines, which will lead to the de¬
velopment of more high-performance
bus-mastering products. With high-per¬
formance peripherals available to free up
your CPU, you don’t need to constantly
upgrade to higher-performing CPUs to
upgrade the overall performance of your
system.

Bus mastering is the wave of the future
(see figure 2). Unlike the ISA bus, it will
allow you to migrate to higher levels of
performance without having to migrate
to a new CPU. This will lengthen the us¬
able lifetime of your microcomputer,
thus protecting your investment in to¬
day’s technology. ■

Brian T. Anderson is the senior manager
of channel marketing at AST Research,
Inc. He earned a B. S. in computer sci¬
ence at the University of New Orleans.
Marcy A. Puhnaty is the product man¬
ager of high-performance systems at AST
Research, Inc. She has a B.S. in business
administration from Duquesne Univer¬
sity. They can be reached on BIX c/o
“editors. ”

140 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Change is the enemy of procedural
programming. Altering one aspect of a
program can take weeks. And while you
redesign, recode and retest, you spend huge
sums of money, and sacrifice irretrievable
market opportunities.

Unfortunately, change is inevitable, and
survival depends on your ability to adapt.
That's not just a cruel law of nature. It's a hard
fact of business.

It's time that programming, too, embraced
change.

The time has come for Objectworks,
the object-oriented development system
from ParcPlace.

Objectworks for Smalltalk-80 and
Objectworks for CT+ provide the tools to
create and deliver programs designed to
work in the fast-moving, ever-changing
world of business.

More and more companies are evolving to
Objectworks for designing commercial
applications. Because designing for the future
means designing for change.

Objectworks.

□jjD

ParcPlace Systems
1550 Plymouth Street
Mountain View, CA 94043
800-822-7880. In CA (415) 691-6700

By its very nature, the world embraces change.

By its very nature, conventional programming does not.

Objectworks for Smalltalk-80, circle 199 Objectworks for C++, circle 200

ParcPlace products are available on 80386 MS-DOS, Sun, Macintosh, DECstation 3100. and HP-9000 Series 300. Smalltalk-80 and Objectworks
are trademarks of ParcPlace Systems. Inc. All other brands are trademarks of their respective holders. ©1989 ParcPlace Systems, Inc.

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Circle 254 on Render Service Card

IBM SPECIAL ISSUE

Clash of the
Graphics Titans

IBM and Texas Instruments present
rival graphics standards

Rick Cook

GA, the latest graphics
standard for MS-DOS-
and GS/2-based com¬
puters, offers 640- by
480-pixel resolution and
256 available colors. This is much better
than earlier graphics standards, but users
are already demanding higher resolution
and more colorful graphics.

This demand is due in part to the
“more-is-more" mentality
that has driven the computer
industry. Part of it is the need
for higher resolutions for spe-
cialized applications like
CAD and desktop publishing.

However, much of the de¬
mand is due to the growing
appeal of windowing inter¬
faces like Presentation Man¬
ager under OS/2 and Micro¬
soft Windows for MS-DOS.

Although they can run on
lower-resolution monitors,
they look much better in high
resolution.

Making displays that are
much more capable than VGA
requires some fundamental
changes in the way that MS-
DOS and OS/2 graphics sys¬
tems work. Until now, the
standard displays have been
based on direct memory ac¬
cess, with the CPU doing
most of the work. A display
was treated as an area of the

computer's main memory, subject to ma¬
nipulation by the main processor. How¬
ever, this gets increasingly clumsy and
time-consuming as resolution and the
number of colors increase.

It is possible to design an extended
VGA board that can display 1024- by
768-pixel resolution in interlaced mode.
However, such a board couldn’t display
more than 16 colors. More significant, it

would be considerably slower than
boards using graphics coprocessor chips.

For high-performance graphics, it
makes more sense to off-load graphics
functions to a specialized graphics co¬
processor. Graphics coprocessor cards
with resolutions beyond VGA have been
available for some time. But since they
have been expensive, they have generally
been used only for applications demand¬
ing high resolution. Now,
however, the broader demand
is pushing high-resolution
graphics into the PC main¬
stream. That, in turn, is pro¬
ducing a growing demand for
a standard interface.

This year, two major ap¬
proaches to a high-resolution
graphics standard came to
fruition. (For the purposes of
this article, high resolution
means anything beyond ex¬
tended VGA, which is 1024
by 768 pixels.) Texas Instru¬
ments is supporting the Texas
Instruments Graphics Archi¬
tecture (TIGA) as a standard
interface between computers
using Intel microprocessors
and graphics boards using its
340x0 series of graphics co¬
processor chips. Western
Digital, Headland Technol¬
ogies, and Chips & Technol¬
ogies are each pushing their
continued

ILLUSTRATION: TOMFOTY © 19S9

B Y T E IBM Special Edition * Fal I \ 989 143

CLASH OF THE GRAPHICS TITANS

Graphics Platforms
Although TIGA provides a path to high¬
er-resolution graphics, as is true with the
8514/A, the two quasi standards are
quite different in design, intention, and
implementation. IBM designed the
8514/A to be a closed hardware product
and has never published the hardware
specifications. TIGA is designed as an
open software standard. TI is actively
promoting it and is selling software de¬
velopment kits to help get TIGA-compat-
ible products out into the market.

Both TIGA and the 8514/A are in¬
tended as software standards, but the
third-party manufacturers of 8514/A
chip sets expect that at least some soft¬
ware developers will want to go directly
to the hardware. Thus, they are con¬
cerned about maintaining register-level
compatibility with the 8514/A. TIGA
was developed so that programmers
would never have to go to the hardware.

The purposes behind the standards are
different as well. IBM wanted a reason¬
ably priced high-resolution graphics sys¬
tem for its PS/2 computers, and other
manufacturers want to offer 8514/A-
compatible graphics. IBM has the market
power to establish a de facto standard.

None of the manufacturers of 34010
graphics boards has that kind of market
muscle. Left to their own devices, they
have all offered boards with different in¬
terfaces, complicating life for software
developers and programmers and bury¬
ing users in different drivers.

TIGA

TIGA is an attempt to bring order to the
situation by standardizing the software
interface* Many companies are already
offering graphics cards using TFs 34010
coprocessor. However, their interfaces

continued

versions of the 8514/A graphics adapter,
which was originated by IBM for the
PS/2 series.

A third possibility is a standard built
around Intel's new 80860 graphics chip.
However, although several companies
are working on graphics boards using it,
so far no one has tried to produce a stan¬
dard graphics interface for the 80860.

Both would-be standards have a higher
resolution than VGA. Both approach the
“magic megapixel” mark (1024 by 1024

pixels, where display resolution begins to
approach the limits of the human eye),
and both offer many more colors and
much more speed than VGA. How many
more colors and how much more speed
depend partly on the implementation.

Most of the time, both TIGA and the
8514/A standard are intended to be
worked through software interfaces
rather than going directly to the hard¬
ware. However, TIGA is completely a
software interface, while the third-party

8514/A companies are making their
products register-compatible with the
IBM version so that programmers can go
directly to the hardware if that's what
they want to do.

Except for IBM's 8514/A card, no sys¬
tem using either standard is available yet .
Western Digital announced its version of
the 8514/A in early June, and TI started
shipping version 1.1 of TIGA about the
same time.

Both the 8514/A and TIGA have long
lists of announced supporters. Over the
next year, expect to be deluged with an¬
nouncements for TIGA- and 8514/A-
based graphics boards. Already the war
of words has started between the two
camps, as each side tries to influence
users and software developers.

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144 Pall 1989 - BYTE IBM Special Edition

Circle 172 on Reader Service Card
(DEALERS: 173)

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Circle 212 on Reader Sen ice Card

CLASH OF THE
GRAPHICS TITANS

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to applications have little in common.
Software companies that wanted to sup¬
port the 34010 had to offer different
drivers for nearly every card. In April TI
took a hand and announced TIGA as a
way of eliminating the differences.

TIGA is a software interface. Its pur¬
pose is to establish a standard interface
between applications and system soft¬
ware on one hand and the 340xG-based
graphics cards on the other.

The 34010 and 34020 are fast, power¬
ful 32-bit graphics coprocessors that owe
a good deal in design and philosophy to
TPs 320x0 line of digital signal process¬
ing chips. Unlike the 8514/A, which
takes a minimalist approach to providing
additional graphics functionality, the
340x0 chips are full-blown microproces¬
sors with a powerful set of hardware in¬
structions for graphics operations.

The 34010 has 15 general-purpose
registers, a 256-byte instruction cache, a
32-bit ALU, a barrel shifter, 32-bit inter¬
nal data paths, and 16-bit I/O. Like the
TI digital signal processors, the 34010
uses a Harvard architecture, with mem¬
ory access and instruction execution
done in parallel to increase speed. The
34020 is an advanced version that has 32-
bit I/O and other added features.

In addition to its general-purpose fea¬
tures, the 34010 has special features for
handling graphics, including program¬
mable CRT control and a direct interface
to DRAM and video RAM, or VRAM
(dual-ported memory that can be read
and written essentially simultaneously).

TIGA Primitives

TIGA is a full-fledged programming
language with nearly 150 functions and
primitives. The primitives come in three
flavors: core primitives, which are al¬
ways available; extended primitives,
which are kept in libraries and loaded ai
initialization if the program needs them;
and user-extended primitives, which are
written by the programmer and kept in li¬
braries like extended primitives. Func¬
tionally, there is no difference between
extended and user-extended primitives,
and TI says there is no difference in over¬
head or speed.

Generally, the core primitives are
concerned with basic environment ma¬
nipulation (e.g, f screen clears, return
foreground and background colors, and
set cursor shape). Most of the drawing
commands, like draw line, and the array
functions, like BitBlt (a block pixel
move), are extended primitives to facili¬
tate replacing them with custom routines
if the programmer desires.

Although TIGA is tied to the 340x0

146 Fall 1989 * B Y T E IBM Special Edition

Circle 260 on Reader Service Card

CLASH OF THE GRAPHICS TITANS

nless they
are cloning an industry standard, like
VGA, board manufacturers don V
want to stick slavishly to a model
They want to add features that will
make their products work better.

family of coprocessors, it is independent
of screen resolution, number of colors,
and graphics constraints. Intended as a
general-purpose interface, it readily
adapts to new graphics equipment and
new 340x0 coprocessors.

The Structure of TIGA

TIGA comes in three parts: the Applica¬
tion Interface (AI), the Communications
Driver (CD), and the Graphics Manager
(GM).

The AI consists of header files and a
library that the application uses at com¬
pile and link time. It is the responsibility
of the applications programmer to pro¬
vide the AI, which is written using the
TIGA primitives. TI sells a driver devel¬
oper’s kit for direct access to the stan¬
dard TIGA environment and a software
developer’s kit for writing downloadable
extensions to TIGA, including extended
primitives.

The AI connects to the CD, a TSR pro¬
gram. This runs on the host PC and is
specific to the graphics board. The CD
takes function calls from the AI and
passes information back and forth be¬
tween the board and the host.

The CD in turn communicates with
the GM on the 34010 board. Like the
CD, the GM is specific to each graphics
card and is supplied by the card’s manu¬
facturer. TI has a software development
kit for hardware manufacturers who
want to make their products TIGA-com-
patible. The GM includes a command ex¬
ecutive that handles the board side of
communications, the library of core
primitives, and the extended and user-
extended primitives downloaded at
initialization.

Programming with TIGA

Although graphics functions can be writ¬
ten directly on TIGA, the simplest ap¬
proach is to write the routines as part of
the program on the host and then extract
them and port them to TIGA. Since the C
compiler for TIGA, GSP (for graphics
systems processor) C (part of the soft¬
ware kit from TI), is Microsoft C-com-
patible, this is a straightforward process.

When writing for TIGA, a program¬
mer will probably want to exploit the in¬
herent parallelism of a TIGA system to
get more speed. This means designing
the code so the graphics card can work as
much as possible without referring back
to the host.

To get more speed, TIGA provides two
ways to pass parameters from the host
computer to the graphics board. The sim¬
plest and most flexible method is to use
C-packet functions. (These are not to be

confused with the C programming lan¬
guage; in this case, C refers to a stack.)
Parameters for C-packet functions are
received on the host side and passed to
the communications buffer in the graph¬
ics card’s memory by the CD. From
there, the parameters are pushed onto the
processor’s stack. The function behaves
as if it were invoked local to the host.

To make this work, the GM must
understand the function’s arguments. In
C-packet mode, each argument is a sepa¬
rate packet with its own header. To make
writing headers easier, the TIGA.H in¬
clude file contains extra defines to repre¬
sent the different data types.

The general format of a C-packet
function is as follows:

ENTRY_POINT_NAME (CMD_ID,
numpackets, packetl,..., packetn)

The entry point is one of three entry
points, depending on the type of function
call made by the function. One entry
point is for functions that do not require
return data, one is for functions that do
return data, and one is for functions that
pass pointers to data that is modified in¬
directly by the function. CMD_ID identi¬
fies the function, the number of packets
tells the GM the number and kind of
packets, and, finally, the packets them¬
selves arrive.

A function to fill a rectangle would be

^define fillrect(w, h, x, y)
cp_cmd (USER.CP (CMD_ID),

4,W0RD(v),W0RD(h),W0RD(x),

WORD(y)

where cp_cmd is one of the entry points,
the function’s command number is
stored in CMD_ID, and the function has
four arguments, all WORD.

C-packet mode is simple and flexible,
but it carries overhead associated with

formatting the packets and pushing the
information onto the stack. The other pa¬
rameter-passing mode, direct mode,
avoids this overhead.

Direct mode is faster but a little more
complicated to write. The raw data is
simply fed into the communications buf¬
fer in GSP memory on the graphics card.
The only thing placed on the stack is a
parameter that is a pointer to the place
where the data is stored in the communi¬
cations buffer. The function must get the
data from the buffer in the format it
expects.

In direct mode, the length of the pa¬
rameter list is expressed in 16-bit words.
The entry point used determines the for¬
mat that the parameters can be specified
in and how these parameters will be re¬
ceived by the communications buffer.

For example, the most common di¬
rect-mode entry point is dm_crad, re¬
ferred to as the standard command entry
point. A typical function using this entry
point is the TIGA core primitive called
poke_breg, which sends a 16-bit register
number and a 32-bit value to be loaded
into the register:

#define poke_breg (regno,value)
dnucmd (P0KE_BREG,3> (short)

(regno),(long)(value);

The length is 3 because the parameter
value is 32 bits (i.e., two words). To in¬
voke the primitive, a parameter data_
ptr would be placed on the stack to point
to the location of the first parameter
regno.

TI expects that most functions will use
the C-packet mode. Only time-critical
functions will use direct mode, and they
will probably be written as C-packet
functions initially and modified later. In
addition to being easier to write, C-
packet functions are safer. There is no

continued

BYTE IBM Special Edition • Fall 1989 147

CLASH OF THE GRAPHICS TITANS

Playing the Benchmark Game

I f you’re reading this expecting to
find tables of numbers showing you
conclusively which standard is the fast¬
est, you’re out of luck. There are some
very good reasons for this, not the least
of which is that it is physically impossi¬
ble to do comparative benchmarks as
this is written.

Although the 8514/A has been avail¬
able from IBM for two years, none of
the third-party chip makers are selling
chips at this time. Western Digital an¬
nounced its first chip set in early June;
Headland Technology was expected to
have its first chips by the fall.

Since both companies claim that their
implementations will be faster than the
IBM version, what is available now isn’t
representative of what is supposed to be
the best performance for the 8514/A.
Nor are TIGA boards released products.
Texas Instruments has a developer’s kit
for its own 34010 board, but it didn’t
start shipping version 1.1 of TIGA until
early June. No one is marketing a TIGA
board for end users yet.

All this may have changed by the
time you read this, but as of now, there
is no way to compare the developed
commercial versions of either standard.
In any event, it would be difficult to
come up with a fair benchmark for two
such different products. Not only are
the architectures, instruction sets, and
design philosophies of the 34010 and
the 8514/A completely different, but
TIGA is explicitly a software standard

(and extensible to boot), while the
8514/A is a rigid hardware standard.

None of this has stopped Western
Digital and TI from engaging in a battle
of benchmarks over the merits of their
approaches. On the basis of raw com¬
puting power, the 34010 probably gets
the edge. It rates at about 1.2 million in¬
structions per second compared to about
1 MIPS for the 8514/A. However,
MIPS don’t even begin to tell the whole
story on something as specialized as a
graphics coprocessor.

Western Digital claims that the IBM
8514/A is significantly faster than the
34010 and that its version will be faster
yet. It has released a series of six bench¬
marks showing the 8514/A running
much faster than the 34010. The bench¬
marks include line drawing and filling a
polygon. In five of the six (the exception
is the polygon fill), the 8514/A comes out
ahead. Western Digital attributes this to
the superior design of the 8514/A, espe¬
cially a much better blitter.

Needless to say, TI isn’t impressed. It
claims that five of the six benchmarks
were chosen to show the strengths of the
8514/A and ignore the chip set’s major
weaknesses. For example, none of the
benchmarks involved drawing a curved
line, since the 8514/A doesn’t have a
curved-line primitive.

Curved lines are immaterial, says
Western Digital, since the time it takes
to draw the vectors that make up the
curves overshadows the time that it

takes to set up the curves.

The real test, TI claims, comes with
real-world applications. TI points to its
AutoCAD driver, which it claims gives
superior performance over AutoCAD
on the 8514/A. Western Digital’s
8514/A AutoCAD driver is no faster
than VGA, says TI.

Headland Technology comes back
with its Windows driver, claiming it
gives better performance with Windows
than any other driver.

Beyond all that, TI points to its latest
graphics chip, the 34020, which is
about five times as powerful as the
34010 and is still TIGA-compatible.
The company says that 34020 boards
will run 12 to 25 times faster on redraws
than the 8514/A. The 8514/A backers
dismiss that as overkill, and much too
expensive for the business and general
markets to boot. Besides, TI says, there
will be faster versions of the 8514/A in
the future.

In the long run, it is probably true
that the important thing for most users,
at least most business users, is how well
the systems perform on applications, es¬
pecially when running under OS/2 or
Windows. However, that will depend
very strongly on the quality of the appli¬
cation drivers written for each standard.

In another six months or a year, it
should be possible for third parties to
make meaningful performance com¬
parisons between the standards. For
now, it isn’t.

size checking with the fastest form of di¬
rect mode, and it is easy to overflow the
buffers. Better to get everything right in
C-packet mode first.

Inherent Extensibility

One of the advantages claimed for TIGA
is an assured growth path. TIGA is not
inherently limited in screen resolution,
number of colors, or the coprocessor it
uses. Already, TI has introduced the
34020, which is roughly five times as
powerful as the 34010 and also TIGA-
compatible.

Anyone trying to establish a standard
software graphics interface has two
major problems: one with software de¬
velopers and one with hardware manu¬
facturers. The problem with software
companies is speed. A graphics interface
has to be extremely fast or applications
developers will bypass it, even at the ex¬

pense of writing their own drivers for
specific cards.

The problem with hardware manufac¬
turers is market differentiation. Unless
they are cloning an industry standard,
like VGA, board manufacturers don’t
want to stick slavishly to a model. They
want to add features that they think will
make their products work better and
faster. (Actually, even when cloning a
standard, board makers like to provide
extras. Most EGA and VGA cards offer
features that aren’t found on the IBM
products.) The manufacturers want a
way to add features in spite of the stan¬
dard interface.

TIGA addresses the desire for extras
by providing an extensible command set.
Manufacturers or users with a TIGA de¬
velopment kit can write extensions using
a compatible C compiler or assembler
package and link the extensions into the

TIGA libraries. For that matter, applica¬
tions programmers can write new com¬
mands and link them into TIGA.

Speed is a more difficult problem. TI
has spent a lot of time optimizing the
primitives and interfaces to make TIGA
work as quickly as possible.

By adding extended primitives, you
can optimize TIGA for particular appli¬
cations. TI used a set of extended primi¬
tives to write its Windows driver, for ex¬
ample, and this is part of the reason why
it is so fast.

Source code for the libraries is avail¬
able from TI. A programmer who wants
a special function to speed up a particu¬
lar job can study the functions in the li¬
braries and use the information to adapt
them or to write a completely new one.

Another way to get speed with a
graphics coprocessor is by exploiting the

continued

148 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

User Jeff Garbers, Crosstalk
Communications* Director of
Software Development has been
debugging with Periscope Model
IVand says , “The hardware
really makes Periscope shine ,
especially when you ve got
timing-related problems. lean
now track down changing
pointers and altered buffers on
my 386 . Vve been using it to
debug Crosstalk® Mk. 4 and
there *s just no better way to do
it”

Periscope IV gives you the ability
to debug time-sensitive programs,
hard ware-interrupt routines, and pro¬
grams with intermittent errors. You can
run your program at full speed while
tracking down unwanted memory
overwrites. You can use the information
captured in Periscope IV T $ real-time
trace buffer to see EXACTLY what the
system is doing, and to improve its
performance.

Periscope
manual, disk,
quick-reference
card, and 512K
Plus board that
provides write-
prolecled RAM
for Periscope
Models I t III,
and IV.

**No matter
what your debugging needs,
a single call to the Periscope
Company has always
sufficed..”

Ross Greenberg

"Best of 1988" (Development Tools)
PC Magazine, January 17, 198$

iscope

The

Periscope

Company, Inc.

1197 PEACHTREE ST.

PLAZA LEVEL
ATLANTA, GA 30361
404/875 6080
FAX 404/872-1973

A New Generation of Hardware-Assisted Debugging

Compatible with virtually any 286 or 386 with an AT-style bus, Periscope IV
works on machines running up to 25MHz with any number of wait states.
Because it gets information directly from the CPU, instead of from the system
bus, Model IV is not sensitive to bus compatibility issues.

Periscope IV collects CPU information in its hardware trace buffer while
the CPU runs at full speed. Whether you tell Periscope IV to capture just
selected information or to capture everything, you can use its powerful trace
buffer commands to search for and display the execution history the way you
need to see it. And you can use the CPU cycle count information to get the last
bit of performance out of your code.

With Periscope IV you can set hardware breakpoints on memory accesses
(within the first 16MB), I/O ports, and data. You can also set breakpoints on
the occurrence of specific sequences of events, such as ” watch for the routine
FQO to begin executing, then while it is, watch for the variable BAR to be
written” This capability, called sequential triggering, enables you to define
complex conditions, then stop your program and examine what has happened
when these conditions occur.

If you*re developing a large application that needs all of the lower 640K, you
can use the optional Plus board to keep Periscope totally out of normal DOS
memory. The Plus board requires the use of a second slot.

The Periscope TV software is an extension of the software that comes with
all models of Periscope, So, along with Periscope IV s powerful hardware, you
get a full-function software debugger with source and symbol support for most
popular PC compilers and linkers, Microsoft® Windows support, PLINK
overlay support, dual monitor support, support for debugging device drivers

I and TSRs as well as regular programs, DOS independence, crash recovery,
ease-of-use, and much more.

Prices on Periscope range from $145 for software-only Model TT-X to $2,995
for a 25 MH 2 386 hardware-assisted Model IV. Call 800/7227006 for pricing
details, free information, to talk about your debugging needs, or to order your
Periscope.

Order Your Periscope, Toll-Free,
Today! 800 - 722-7006

MAJOR CREDIT CARDS AND QUALIFIED
COMPANY PURCHASE ORDERS ACCEPTED

Circle 206 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS: 207)

CLASH OF THE GRAPHICS TITANS

inherent parallelism of the system. With
careful programming, TIGA offers an
opportunity for processing graphics
commands in parallel. The CPU can
start a graphics process through TIGA
and work on other things until the pro¬
cess is finished.

The 8514/A

The third-party manufacturers' ap¬
proach to cloning the 8514/A is similar
to what they did with VGA, EGA, and
other earlier IBM graphics standards.
They are attempting to leverage off
IBM's market power and at the same
time standardize their hardware at the
register level while providing compatible
extensions to enhance their products. Al¬
ready, VESA (for Video Electronics
Standards Association) has a subcommit¬
tee working on an 8514/A standard.

Among IBM graphics products, the
8514/A is in a class by itself. It has not
evolved from any other IBM graphics
standard, as VGA was developed from
EGA, nor is it backward-compatible with
any of them.

In the IBM implementation, there isn't
any reason for the 8514/A to be compat¬

ible. The 8514/A is a PS/2 product, and
the PS/2 series has VGA on the mother¬
board. In the PS/2s, the 8514/A adapter
sits on the video bus and does nothing
when VGA is active, IBM has not re¬
leased a version to run on the AT bus and
probably never will. The 8514/A is in¬
tended only for the PS/2 series.

Further, IBM broke tradition and did
not release the hardware specification for
the 8514/A, Instead, programmers are
supposed to use function calls to the ap¬
plications interface. This means that
IBM is not committed to maintaining
hardware or register compatibility in fu¬
ture products that use the AL

One result is that cloning the 8514/A is
harder than it was for VGA. It has taken
more than two years from the announce¬
ment of the IBM product to the first reg¬
ister-compatible chip sets, (The 8514/A
was announced in April 1987 and started
shipping in July 1987.) The 8514/A in¬
volved much more reverse engineering
because of less initial information.

8514/A Architecture

Physically, the 8514/A is a VLSI two-
chip set consisting of a master chip (the

pixel address manager chip) and a pixel
chip (the pixel data manager chip).
(Chips & Technologies 1 implementation
is all on one chip.)

The master chip contains the interface
to the PC bus, the display controller, and
the graphics processor. The pixel chip
does the data manipulations on pixels
needed to produce the images.

The display controller synchronizes
signals to the display, like the horizontal
and vertical sync signals. It also gener¬
ates addresses for transfer cycles for the
serialized portion of display memory and
the interface control, if one is used. The
display controller also refreshes the dis¬
play memory.

The graphics processor is the most in¬
teresting part of the master chip from the
programmer’s standpoint. It does most
of the work in creating graphics. Among
other things, it generates coordinate ad¬
dresses, draws lines, copies rectangles to
and from anywhere in display memory,
and transfers host data.

The pixel processor has a more limited
job. It handles the manipulations of
pixels in display memory. It can perform

continued

BITWISE COMPUTERS MORE
THAN JUST A PRETTY FACE

Model

Model 212M

Model 212

Model 325

Model 333

CPU

RAM

DISPLAY

12 Mhz 80286

1 Meg 0 Wait
Monochrome

12 Mhz 80286

1 Meg 0 Wait
VGA color

25 Mhz 80386

4 Megs Interleaved
VGA color

33 Mhz 80386

4 Megs Cache
VGA color

PRICE $1,395

$1,895

$3,195

$4,895

Prices are for complete systems, including Comptuer, Monitor, Keyboard. Hard

Disk, DOS, Documentation, and 1 Year Warranty. Call lor Plasma Portable Info!

All Systems Include:

* Compact Case 17’ w x 725”h x 14"d

* 8 Expansion Slots, 5 Full Length Free

* 5 Drive Slots, 3 free

* Teac 12 or 1.4 Meg Floppy (add $95 for both)

* Trident VGA Card, 100% register compatible, up to 1024x768

* Keytronics 101 Key US Made Keyboard

* 2 Serial Ports, 1 Parallel Port, 1 Game Port

* Seagate 40 Meg 28 ms MFM (ST-251-1) Hard Disk

* MS-DOS 3,3 or 4,01 with Manuals

Monitor Upgrades

Call for Monitor Upgrades up to 1024x786

Hard Disk Upgrades

Call for Hard Disk Upgrades - 66 to 157 Megs!

Bitwise - Building and servicing PCs since 1985, Questions? Cali Us! we understand what
we sell! Shipping — You pay UPS Shipping Charges only, F.O.B. Troy, NY, no surcharges.
Full 1 Year Parts & Labor Warranty, 30-day money back guarantee. These are cash or
check in advance prices. VISA, MC, DISCOVER, welcomed (2% surcharge). COD, add
15%. Personal Financing and Corporate Leasing and Quantity Discounts Available.

1-800-367-5906
518-274-0755
Fax 518-274-0764

Bitwise Designs Inc.
701 River St.

Troy, NY 12180-1233

Bitwise

DESIGNS

I N C

150 Fall J989 • B Y T E IBM Special Edition

Circle 30 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS: 31)

KAYPRO COMPUTERS
Rugged, Reliable, Reputable

KAYPRO XT
$549

Base System with Single Happy, No Video

All Kaypro computers
feature:

• A rugged, American-built
chassis with vinyl-clad case

• A reliable, one-year limited
warranty

• A reputation of 37 years in
aerospace electronics; 8 years
in the computer business

XT Computer

Video Options

f includes monitor & video adaptor]

Dish Drive
Options

14-Ral

Mono

True ,31 Dot Filch

VGA VGA Plus

Dual Floppies

899

1399

1599

20 MB Hard Drive,
single (loppy

1150

1649

1049

30 MB Hard Drive,
single Happy

1210

1699

1899

: DAM

_ ^ ^jun

mmm

KAYPRO

$99

Base System with Single i,21

—rri 1

286/12

MB Floppy, No Video

286/12

Video Options

(includes monitor A video adapter)

Disk Drive
Options

14" Hal
Mono

True .31 Dot Pildh

VGA VGA Plus

20MB (40ms)

1499

2049

2249

40MB (26ms)

1799

2449

2649

70MB (28ms)

1949

2549

2749

Ask about Kaypro's full line of high-
performance microcomputers, including
the new 80386,33 MHz machine.

30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

CALL TOLL-FREE

1 - 800 - 289-9899

FAX: 619-481-4369
Phone: 619-481-4302

Hours: Mon. - Fri., 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. F.S.T.
Payment: MasterCard, Visa, or Cashier's Check
preferred. Terms available on approved credit.
Shipping and Handling: Within 3%

minimum for UPS Ground. Call for shipping
charges with alternate carriers.

Sales Tax: California residents, add 7%.

Dealer and Corporate Inquiries Welcome

COMPUTERS

533 Stevens Avenue
Solana Beach, CA 92075

1MB

RAM

Standard Features

236/12

286/16

386/20

CPU

8088/V-20

BG286

80286

00386

Speed (MHz}

4,77/10,0

6/12

8/16

Standard RAM

640KB

1MB

Keyboard

101 Key

Clock/Calendar

Lithium Battery Back—□[

Expansion Slots (16-Bit)

Expansion Slots (8-Bit)

Serial Ports

Parallel Ports

Additional i/0 Ports

1 Game

Device Bays

Power Supply

15QW

20QW

2Q0W

20QW

Operating System’

Free

KAYPRO 286/16
$1399

Base System wiih Single 1.2MB Floppy, No Video

286/16

Video Options

(includes monitor A video adapter)

Disk Drive
Options

14' Flat
Mono

True .31 Dot Pitch

VGA VGA Plus

20 MB (40ms}

1699

2249

2449

, 40 MB (28ms)

1599

2649

2849

70 MB (28ms)

2149

2749

2949

1MB

S- RA M

jjjjSS i

KAYPRO 386/20

$2299

Base System with Single 1,2MB Floppy, No Video

386/20

Video Options

(includes monitor & video adaptor]

Disk Drive
Options

14-Hat
Mono

True .31 Dot Pilch

VGA VGA Plus

40MB (28ms)

2799

3349

3549

70MB (20ms)

3999

3649

3049

150MB (2Bnrk&)

3849

4395

4595

Prices, terms, and specifications subject to change without notice.

’Each Kaypro computer is shipped with DR DOS 3.4 by Digital Research, Inc,, an MS DOS - compatible operating system that runs up to 25% faster.

Circle 152 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS: 153)

CLASH OF THE GRAPHICS TITANS

16 logical and 16 arithmetic functions on
combinations of source and destination
pixels. It has two color registers for
across-plane pixel processing, and eight
color-compare functions to allow the se¬
lection of only certain pixels for process¬
ing. It also has read and write masks to
limit processing to given display planes.

Another important feature of the pixel
processor is the barrel shifter. This lets
the chip do very fast alignments of
source pixels during block copy opera¬
tions and helps explain the 8514/A’s
speed on BitBlt.

In addition to the two chips, the
8514/A board includes display memory
(usually 1 megabyte of VRAM), a pixel
serializer chip, and a RAMDAC (for
RAM D/A converter), as well as power-
on self-test ROM. The pixel serializer
takes the byte-at-a-time data from the
display memory and converts it into a
stream of bits. The RAMDAC (an IN-
MOS IMS 171 or compatible) converts
the digital pixel information received
from the serializer into the analog RGB
signals needed by the 8514/A monitor.

Programming the 8514/A

Unlike the 340x0, the 8514/A is not a
general-purpose graphics processor. It is
not so much programmable as command-
able (i.e., it doesn’t have facilities for
stored programming on the board), and
its command set is both simple and not
extensible.

The commands do more-complex jobs
than they do with VGA. With VGA, a
command essentially alters the state of
the graphics system. The 8514/A does

more with a single command, but the
process is more like loading commands
into a queue than programming a micro¬
processor. One of the jobs of the PC bus
interface on the master chip is to main¬
tain the command queue, including
knowing when the queue is full.

Further, IBM expects programmers to
use the AI with the 8514/A. This is a
function-call system using a TSR pro¬
gram called HDILOAD.EXE to access
the graphics board.

In contrast, register programming is
done through I/O ports, with each regis¬
ter treated as an I/O port at a specific
memory location. Most of the 56 regis¬
ters in the 8514/A set are word registers.
The exception is the palette registers,
which are all byte registers.

Each major component of the 8514/A
chip set (i.e., graphics processor, display
controller, and pixel processor) has its
associated set of registers. For example,
the pixel processor registers include the
background color register, foreground
color register, write mask register, read
mask register, color compare register,
background mix register, foreground
mix register, short stroke vector transfer
register, and pixel data transfer register.
A number of these, like the display con¬
troller registers, are write-only.

In one sense, it is much simpler to
program the 8514/A than to program a
TIGA board. You use the appropriate
function calls (under the AI) or place the
appropriate values in the registers. In
either case, the command set is sparse
compared to that of TIGA. There is less
to remember and deal with.

But writing useful programs with the
8514/A isn’t necessarily simple. Even
with the AI, the programmer has to deal
with the 8514/A on a very basic level.
Because the functions are limited, the
programmer may have to spend more
time figuring out how to make some¬
thing happen. One 8514/A proponent
compares programming the card to pro¬
gramming a plotter.

For example, to perform a BitBlt, the
program first executes a command tell¬
ing the 8514/A what kind of transfer is
required (e.g., host to display or display
to host). A second command gives the
address to be read from or written to.

Third-Party Enhancements

Both Western Digital and Headland
Technology have announced their own
8514/A chip sets, which are compatible
right down to the register level. Like the
many third-party VGA boards, these
chip sets are designed to go beyond IBM
by offering more features and better per¬
formance.

Western Digital calls its chip set the
Personal Workstation Graphics Array 1.
It includes a number of features not
found on the 8514/A, including the abil¬
ity to support interlaced and noninter¬
laced monitors with a maximum resolu¬
tion of 1280 by 1024 pixels. The clock
speed of the chip set is 60 MHz, 30 per¬
cent faster than the IBM version, so it
speeds up operations like BitBlt and rect¬
angle fill. The PWGA1 also has a shorter
memory-transfer time, which further
speeds up operations.

continued

World Class Software Security

The parallel port interface (PPI) connects between the printer port on a PC and the
printer cable. The PPI holds two Key Tags, one on each side. Each Key Tag contains
a secure custom chip which is pre-programmed by Glenco to only work with the
assigned software package. A second Key Tag can be employed to protect another
package, or may be used to turn other software packages "on'’, remotely or on-site.

• STANDARD KEY TAG - Software is
protected for an unlimited number of
executions. They are pre-programmed to
include a sequentially assigned S/N.

• COUPON KEY TAG - Software is valid for
a preset number of executions. The Coupon
count can be reset remotely or on the cust¬
omers site by using a second update Key Tag.

• DURATION KEY TAG
board. (Available late *89)

Has a clock on

Secure software and data with reliable, effective
protection products that won’t burden honest users.

Glenco is a world leader in the area of software security products and
services. Our copy protection products and data security products arc second
to none. They arc designed to function on a wide variety of third party
hardware. We have over 3500 satisfied software firms utilizing our products.
Wfe also have a full line of disk based protection systems.

• MACHINES SUPPORTED IBM • LANGUAGES/COMPILER Over 50,

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• OPERATING SYSTEMS - MS-DOS. sheets ^ havc a non-programmers

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Call or write for more information.

interface as well.

• READ/WRITE KEY TAG With
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costs are lowered.

GLENCO

ENGINEERING INC.

SERVING THE SOFTWARE INDUSTRY SINCE 1979
721 W. Algonquin Road. Arlington Hts.. IL 60005, (312) 364-7638, FAX 364-7698

In Europe contact: SDC Security Systems. The Netherlands
Tel: +31-45-441535, FAX: +31-45-444747

152 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Circle 123 on Reader Service Card

Here's the PC Voice Mail system that can
increase your productivity by over 9 weeks.

The average business person wastes
5 to 7* hours each week on the tele¬
phone. That’s over 9 weeks a year of
wasted time and profits. That’s why you
need Watson.

What Is Watson?

It’s the $249 hardware and software
system that turns your PC and tele¬
phone into an intelligent communica¬
tions system that outperforms voice
messaging systems costing thousands
of dollars more.

Why Watson?

Because Watson invented the category
of PC voice mail. Because PC Magazine
selected Watson Version 1 as “Editor’s
Choice for Product of the Year in 1984."
Because Watson Version 6.23 is a Hayes-
compatible modem (1200 or 2400 BPS)
that runs completely in the background
without interfering with other computing
functions. Because Watson comes with a
60-day free support program. Because
Watson has over 35,000 satisfied users.
And because over 45% of our sales
come from user referrals!

All This For Just $249.

With basic Watson you’ll get a single or
multiple user system that answers the
phone; forwards messages to any
phone, even pagers; provides private
and public voice mailboxes; gives you
a personal calendar and program¬
mable alarms plus a dictation system
with full featured voice editing. You’ll get
auto dialing, remote access operation
and message retrieval. Plus a sortable
phone book based on a Rolodex"
file card structure in which you can
enter free form notes and do key
word searches. And it’s all yours for
just $249.

‘George Walther, Phone Power (New York: Berkley Books, 1986)

Watson Productivity Options.

Watson-Voice Information
System (VIS):

An English-like command language that
allows you to customize voice messages,
control message sequences with touch
tones for both inbound and outbound
response applications.

Add FAX-On The Same Line-
To Watson’s Voice Mail And
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With Watson Communications Center
(WCC) software, if you've got a FAX
board or are looking to add one, now
you can have Telephone Answering
and Voice Messaging and Modem and
FAX on one computer, using j ust one
telephone line. Perfect for the home
office, small business, or work group
in a large corporation, WCC gives
you total integrated communications
capabilities so you can look and sound
more professional.

WCC is easy to use. One-button selec¬
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want to communicate: with voice, with
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function keys, and help screens make
keyboard use simple.

WCC is flexible/configurable. VIS

gives unmatched customizing flexibility
and lets you control Watson to do out¬
bound telemarketing, inbound bulletin
boards, phone surveys, order entry, and
many other tasks. WCC also provides
complete privacy by allowing all commu¬
nications to come straight to your PC.

WCC saves space and money. Elimi¬
nate the need and clutter of separate
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To find out more, call 1-800-533-6120
and ask for our WCC Department. In
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For IBM^ MCA Only $599.

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Circle 190 on Reader Service Card

CLASH OF THE GRAPHICS TITANS

In addition, the PWGA1 features a
turbo BitBit mode that can double the
speed on 16-color images. In this mode,
8-bit data transfers from the on-board
VRAM are treated as two 4-bit transfers,
meaning that two pixels can be read per
transfer. Four bits are sufficient to de¬
fine 16 colors, and 8 bits can define 256
colors. If the application is using 16 or
fewer colors, the FWGA1 can combine
two 4-bit transfers into one 8-bit transfer,
cutting the time needed in half.

Going to the Hardware
The conventional wisdom of MS-DOS
graphics has always been that program¬
mers will want to go to the hardware to
get the maximum speed on their dis¬
plays. Working through a software inter¬
face is significantly slower. Most manu¬
facturers think this will be less of an
issue with the 8514/A.

There are some significant differences
between the 8514/A and the previous
standards. For one thing, the 8514/A is a
good deal faster, even through the Al,
For many applications, it has enough
speed that developers won't feel the need
to bypass the software interface.

A second difference is that the 8514/A
is designed to work in the brave new
world of OS/2. The IBM version is avail¬
able only on PS/2s, which are intended to
be IBM's platforms for OS/2. It is harder
to play games with the hardware under
OS/2 than it is under MS-DOS.

This combination of speed and diffi¬
culty means that most applications soft¬
ware developers won’t be tempted to go
directly to the hardware. However, sys¬
tem software developers may very well
want to write to the registers to get as
much speed for their applications as they
can. This is the approach that Microsoft
took in developing its 8514/A drivers for
Windows.

Interlaced Video

Another peculiarity of IBM’s 8514/A is
that it produces an interlaced display.
Headland Technology and Western Digi¬
tal say their chip sets can do the full
1024- by 768-pixei display without inter¬
lacing.

Interlaced modes are hardly new.
Broadcast TV uses an interlaced system.
So, in fact, does the Commodore Amiga.
However, they have been uncommon in
MS-DOS systems until now.

The advantage of an interlaced mode is
that it lets you double the vertical resolu¬
tion of a system without having to double
the scan frequency of the monitor. Since
the cost of a monitor increases with the
scan frequency (although not lineally),
that holds down costs.

In the case of the 8514/A, that could
have been a significant cost. Even before
the standard was announced, a number
of multisync monitors were available that
almost reached the 85J4/A’s frequency
of 33 kHz. Providing 8514/A resolution
without interlace would have meant go¬
ing to a 60-kHz monitor, well outside the
PC state of the art at the time the system
was announced.

In designing the 8514/A, IBM was
clearly concerned about keeping down
the scan rate of its monitor. The logical
display resolution would be 1024 by 960
pixels. Backing off the horizontal scan
rate to 768 pixels cut the frequency re¬
quirements.

A lower vertical resolution also makes
it easier to avoid flicker, one of the inher¬
ent disadvantages of interlaced video. In
effect, interlacing cuts the screen refresh
rate in half, since it takes two scans to
completely refresh the screen. If the ef¬
fective refresh rate is too low, the results
are very noticeable.

The typical scan rate on a computer
monitor is 60 times per second. This is

fast enough that no flicker is noticeable.
Doubling the vertical resolution and
halving the refresh rate would drop the
scan rate to 30 times per second, slow
enough that flicker becomes apparent.

By holding the vertical resolution to
768 pixels, IBM was able to use a scan
rate of 44 times per second. This is fast
enough to significantly reduce flicker. In
addition, the 8514 monitor uses a long-
persistence phosphor, and the combina¬
tion gives adequate display quality for al¬
most any application.

Is Adequacy Sufficient?

The 8514/A appears to be designed with
the philosophy that adequacy is suffi¬
cient. It is not a full-fledged graphics co¬
processor with an extensive library of
built-in functions. Instead, it is a rather
simple processor with limited, hard¬
wired instructions.

In theory, the more powerful the
graphics coprocessor, the better. This is
the philosophy behind the 34010, the
80860, and most other graphics co¬
processors. In practice, a powerful co¬
processor trades off cost and ease of pro¬
gramming to get power. IBM apparently
decided it made more sense to settle for
less power in a less-expensive product.

As a result, the 8514/A’s instruction
set is limited. Programming it is easy in
the sense that once you decide how to do
something, doing it is very straightfor¬
ward. But figuring out how to go from a
requirement to a programming strategy
may take some thinking.

Notably missing from the 8514/A’s in¬
struction set are arc-drawing primitives.
Nor is there a polygon-fill primitive, al¬
though polygon fills can be done readily
using the Begin Filled Area and End
Filled Area commands.

Although the command set is fixed in

continued

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154 Fall 1989 - B Y T E IBM Special Edition

< 2 ! Emerson

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IBM

MDL 30,20 Meg $1655.17
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MDL 50Z. 30 Mt?g 2076.75

.$119006

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P00OO.12MHZ
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Ma 56SX, 30
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EPSON

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NEC

P220Q.-.$34465 P5WQ ......_ .5606.63

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toy KODAK

15QP m..$300,17 f 475.17

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321 SI....$466.95 EnpresswrWer 311 .....$377.16

341SL. 592,04 ExSesswrtar 301 .320,04

351SX 94955 CALL FOR ACCESSORIES

brother

M-17Z4L.$579.64 M 1 709.$384.47

HR20.. . . ..,340.60 fWO .629,12

OKIDATA

ML 162 Tube.$234.48 ML 321.... ..$479:20

ML 172.199.95 ML 390.. .475.96

ML 330 . NEW ML 39t ..

SOFTWARE STARTER KITS

Eniry Level 286 Starter Kit, J Users .$429.90

EnifHml 286 Starter KiL 0 Users.B90.89

NOVELL 206 SoUwana V. 2.is _ 1839.65

NOVELL SFT Netware V 2.15 .2986.60

NOVELL NETPRO.1120-50

INTERFACE CAROS

3COM E1HERLINK . $375.45

AHC.VI ' PCI10 !. ANI >: i. ii :J P&2.412.50

ARCNET PC 130 LANboard.... . 164.27

ARCNET PC 139F I ANboard . 1 89.30

ARCNET SMC 16-6ir File Server Board 437.55

ARCNET SMG 16-Blt WerkslaliDR Beard.359.25

ETHERNET InterlBtt? Comectof (NElOOOl.29B.90

ETHERNET Plus Board {lor 286} INPGOO).635,35

G--NE7 Interface Card w/Cable. 208.52

NOVELL NE0OOO .394.15

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THOMAS CONRAD 16 Port Hub__

THOMAS CONRAD 0 Port Hub.

Eihemei Terminators ..i__

Novell inuned and airthonjed sales and support,
See WORKSTATIONS under Computers

286. MDL 1, .,.$1549.95 386,25MHz MjQQQ, $8177.99

286E.MDL1 1899,50 :JS6-?0E, 40 Mog 4299.12

286E MDL 20 ,2172.46 338 20L. 100 Meg 4943.22

30©E MDL 40.2453.41 PORT II MDL 2 ..1853.10

m 2D MHz. 120 5718-33 PORT II. MEh 4 2697.42

306, 2$ KPj 60.. $588.90 PORT III MDI . J 3495.86
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386S, MDL 20 .2703.12 PORT m MDL 4:1 542624

306S. MDL 40..... 3092.S4 TORT. 330MDL 1006609.74

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T-1000. $557,95 T1GQQ $3237.00

TI200,2 Drive . 1455,74 T5100 4230.70

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LASER PRINTERS

BROTHER HL-80. . „...$179fc90

H P Laaertel Mattel 2 / HD..1699.95 / 2744.95

H-P Deskjei 599.00

NEC LCB90..... 3095,60

PACIFIC DATA ?S in 1 Cartrd^..283.86

TOSHIBA Page Laser 12. 2479.58

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WQRPPE RFECT 5.0 5.25"' 3.5' $229.90 ■ 238.90

ASHTON TATE dBase Hi- dBase iV ....424,00 / 476.10

ASHTON TATE Mulbmale Amramnge n.280.12

LOTUS 1 -2-3 5 26 . 3 5 V2 2 . 339.95

LOTUS 1 2-3 V.J / LOTUS f^hworker.. .337,00 /159220

BORLAND Paradox 3.0 439.17

BOFILAND Quallra f Sdskek 4.„149.52 ! 131,25

MICROSOFT ExcelWindows 386. 262.50129.05

MERIDIAN Carton Oapsr.119,37

SYMANTEC Q*A.. 217,«

SOFTWARE RIB Harvard Graphics . 274.71

XEROX Vemura Soltwere Varafcn 2.0,™. 479,00

i.i; i n.i.n«41.l4«

CDW"- Color t Mono Cards wrP.$99.00 / 69,00

HERCULES'" Coter/MonoCanJa w/p. 146.14 /179^4

ATftT Monochrome Monitor .109,40

AMOEK 410A 1200.149.99 / 679.78

COMPAQ Mono VGA Mono .... 167.00 / 209,96

IBM PS2 06O3.209.95

SAMSUNG Amber ... 84,10

NEC Monograph. 1297.25

PGS MAX 1 2l.' MAX 15 139-40 / 256,20

PACKARD BELL Grcun nr Amber.89.95

EVE REX 12008/24006.

EVEREX 2400 Ext / 24tXl PS.2.

INTEL 2400 Internal .

INTEL 2400 EjitemaJ..

HAYES

HAYES 1200.......$270.60 240OB . $370.45

1200B. .269,20 2400PS2.307.15

2400.41E.0B Pwsanal Modem 109.70

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Frequent Buyers Bru^rarn

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40 Meg.-HO Meg. 5445.29 825.29

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BY 5:00 P.M. C.D.T.
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3S40 MARIA. NORTHBROOK. IL 60062 FAX (312) 291-1737

WHY WAIT? CALL COMPUTER DISCOUNT WAREHOUSE “ NOW!

CLASH OF THE GRAPHICS TITANS

hardware, the chip set has considerable
potential for expansion in resolution and
color. For one thing, according to Head¬
land Technology, the chips themselves
will support resolutions of 1280 by 1024
pixels, even if the present boards won’t.
That means that increasing the resolution
will be fairly straightforward.

Equally significant, one address chip
can handle up to four pixel chips. That
would let the 8514/A do 32-bit color at
the same speed as the present 8-bit color.

IBM Moves

The 8514/A not only breaks new techni¬
cal ground for IBM-compatible graphics
standards, it also poses a marketing risk
that earlier IBM-compatible standards
did not. Because IBM did not release any
of the hardware specifications, there is
nothing to stop the company from com¬
ing out with a completely new product to¬
morrow that conforms to the software
specification.

On the other hand, IBM has said that it

intends to put the 8514/A on the mother¬
board of future models of PS/2s. It has
indicated that it intends to stay with the
8514/A for several years, albeit with ex¬
pansions and extensions.

Further, the 8514/A’s backers say that
they expect to build enough momentum
in the market that it will be a standard no
matter what IBM does. If there are 2 or 3
million 8514/A systems in users’ hands,
applications developers are going to pro¬
vide drivers for the 8514/A.

Upgrading to the 8514/A poses a di¬
lemma for users. It is not backward-com¬
patible, and not all software comes with
8514/A drivers.

There are several ways around this.
One of them is to install the 8514/A
adapter alongside a VGA card and use the
standard pass-through connector that is
part of the VGA specification. That
works, but it takes up a second expansion
slot. In addition, in some VGA imple¬
mentations, you run into a memory con¬
flict. Third-party VGA board manufac¬
turers have added features and modes to
the boards, so their BIOSes are larger
than IBM’s, and their implementations
run over into 8514/A memory space.

Another possibility would be for man¬
ufacturers to offer boards that have both
VGA and 8514/A on them. That would
be more expensive than a regular 8514/A
card, but it may prove popular with users
with existing systems.

A Standard for the 1990s?

As this is written, it is much too early to
tell which graphics system will become
the next standard. Both the 8514/A and
TIGA are attractive, and they both have
strong and weak points.

TIGA offers a uniform, resolution-
independent software interface that can
be extended to meet programmers’ needs
and can grow to handle new generations
of graphics coprocessors. The 8514/A
follows the classic path of turning an
IBM product into a standard. It includes
the ability to access the hardware directly
for maximum speed, and the hardware
may very well be less expensive than
TIGA. Its backers also claim that it is
faster than TIGA.

Technically, both of these proposed
standards represent a significant advance
over VGA. Which of them is successful
will probably depend at least as much on
the market factors as on their inherent
benefits. ■

Rick Cook is a freelance writer in Phoe¬
nix, Arizona, specializing in computers
and high-technology subjects. He can be
reached on BIX as “rcook. ”

ARE YOU STILL DRAWING FLOWCHARTS BY HAND?

Other Text

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A/P Voucher
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156 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Circle 201 on Reader Service Card

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or call

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Circle 69 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS: 70)

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In Canada call

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International calls

1-612-631-7800

ARTIST and ARTIST GT are trademarks of Control Systems, Inc. IBM is a registered trademark and PS/2 and Micro Channel are trademarks of international Business Systems.
Images courtesy of MCS, CADKEY, Versa CAD, Ithaca Software, Autodesk, Sigma Design, AT&T GSL. AutoSolid is a trademark of AutoOesk, Inc. ^Copyright 1988 Control System;

IBM SPECIAL ISSUE

Is It Really
Super?

The Super VGA standard is both a beginning
to solving some problems and an end to simple solutions for others

Bill Nicholls

ics modes (via hardware and BIOS exten¬
sions) that differentiate its product from
others- For text, these special modes
range up to 132 by 60 characters. For
graphics, they range up to 1024 by 76S
pixels, interlaced and noninterlaced, as
well as 800 by 600 pixels in 16- and 256-
color options.

As a result, software companies that
produce graphics software have provided

limited support for the special extended
modes unique to a specific adapter.
Thus, the video-adapter manufacturers
have had to greatly expand their pro¬
gramming and technical-support effort
to provide software drivers for each
graphics package in order to solve your
installation problems. And you still have
to figure out what combination of modes
and software gives you the best result
with your current display!

How Bad Can It Get?

Five chip sets currently sup¬
port VGA-compatible dis¬
plays: Renaissance, ATI
Technologies, Western Digi¬
tal Imaging (Paradise), Video
Seven, and Tseng Labs. All
have extensions requiring dif¬
ferent programming to acti¬
vate similar modes. A similar
number of chip sets exists for
the EGA standard and exten¬
sions, and the 8514/A has
both a software application
interface and a decoded hard¬
ware interface from Western
Digital. 8514/A clones are
expected soon and could fur¬
ther expand the incompatible
setup and programming prob¬
lem. You could have 30 to 60
independent sets of code for
each application to drive the
most common video adapters
continued

GA, Hercules, EGA,
PGA, VGA, 8514/A—
haven't we had enough?
With resolutions ranging
from 320 by 200 pixels to
1024 by 768 pixels and color options
from monochrome to 256 colors from a
palette of256,000, we seem to have over¬
done the graphical user options a bit.
What started as a simple choice between
monochrome and color has
become a confusing and ex¬
pensive set of options for
users and has escalated into a
nightmare for manufacturers
and programmers of video
display adapters.

Each of these classes of
display adapters has one or
more standard text modes,
ranging from 40 columns by
25 rows to 80 columns by 50
rows, and standard graphics
modes that range from 640 by
200 pixels by 2 colors (CGA)
to 640 by 480 pixels by 16
colors (VGA). Most of the
modes in the earlier adapters
are supported in the later
ones, though sometimes with
different setup parameters.

For true IBM modes, all com¬
patible adapters support the
setup via BIOS calls.

In addition, almost every
maker of display adapters has
added special text and graph¬

BYTE IBM Special Edition " Fall 1989 159

IS IT REALLY SUPER?

in the most common graphics modes.
With the exceptions of Microsoft Win¬
dows and GEM for DOS, Presentation
Manager for OS/2, and X Window for
Unix, no common driver interface exists
for graphics applications. Graphics ap¬
plications now face a two-level software-
support decision: which interface stan¬
dards they should support, and which
stand-alone adapters DOS should sup¬
port, To support the growing number of
environments and video adapters, each
graphics application must devote more
programming resources to the graphics
interface rather than to the application.
The good news is that a group of video
chip, board, and display vendors saw this
problem coming and formed an indepen¬
dent organization—VESA, the Video
Electronics Standards Association, This
organization recommends standard BIOS
and programming interfaces for the ex¬
tended graphics modes that hide the in¬
compatible hardware implementations.

The bad news is that the task is com¬
plex and must be done in a backward-
compatible manner so as not to orphan
the current installed base of VGA cards.
The VESA VGA BIOS extension propos¬
al version 2.0, called Super VGA, was is¬
sued in April. It will take time for final
agreement and implementation of the
new standards, and still more time to re¬
write or upgrade the software drivers.

The Standards

The term Super VGA refers to video
graphics products that implement a
superset of the standard IBM display

adapter. The VESA Super VGA Stan¬
dard is the proposed software interface
that will isolate the hardware differences
and provide information in a hardware-
independent manner. This means you
will finally be able to write graphics
software without needing special code
for each specific chip set or having to
identify which adapter you’re using.

VESA is proposing standards for de¬
termining the video environment, pro¬
gramming support, compatibility, mode
numbers, and BIOS functions. The
video-mode numbers are 15 bits wide,
while current VGA video-mode numbers
are 7 bits wide and range from 00 hexa¬
decimal to 13h. Manufacturers have es¬
tablished extended modes in the range
from 14h to 7Fh. Values in the range 80h
to FFh are not allowed since bit 7 is a
Clear Video Memory flag. Except for

Table 1 : The VESA video-mode
numbers are i5 bits wide, while
current VGA video-mode numbers
are 7 bits wide. Except for mode
6Ah, ail other VESA modes will
equal or exceed lOOh.

PROPOSED VESA MOPES

Mode

Number

Resolution

Number
of colors

6Ah

800 x 600

100b

640 x 480

256

101b

800 x 600

256

mode 6Ah, all other VESA modes will
equal or exceed lOOh (see table 1).

An extended BIOS support using ex¬
tended function 4Fh in the video inter¬
rupt 10 handler is also proposed. Func¬
tion calls will return status in the AX
register concerning support or non sup¬
port, success or failure (see table 2).

In addition to these functions, further
analysis and discussions are aimed at
other aspects of the video adapters.
These include the following:

* Extended video-memory mapping,
which could simplify windowing soft¬
ware by insulating it from most of the
hardware details.

* External palette control to 6- and 8-bit
D/A converters, which could create a
uniform interface to either a 256,000-
color palette or a 16-mill ion-color pal¬
ette.

* Variable start address for the CRT, im¬
portant in animation techniques.

* Standard timing parameters for the
display so that monitor manufacturers
can provide monitors that synchronize
without adjustment and provide the prop¬
er picture size at any resolution.

How Does This Affect the End User?

Except for the installation difficulties, as
an end user, you don’t see most of the
current problems directly. What you do
see are long delays required for the ex¬
tended graphics modes, and separate
drivers for each graphics software pack¬
age for each specific adapter family.

VESA has yet to make an impact on
the end user, but once the standards are
accepted, you will see fewer but more-
functional software drivers. In addition,
switching to a new video display adapter
usually won’t mean getting a whole new
set of drivers, since a driver written to
the VESA standard should work with any
VESA-compliant adapter.

Performance Issues
VESA standards may solve the incom¬
patibility problem, but higher resolution
presents another problem. Higher resolu¬
tion means more pixels; more pixels
mean more operations to update each
screen; and more operations mean a
slower response to any change.

Given today’s systems and adapters, a
4,77-MHz computer will be slow at sup¬
porting EGA graphics. For basic 8-MHz
ATs, VGA at 640 by 480 pixels is prob¬
ably the best resolution with acceptable
graphics performance. A 12-MHz AT
can support VGA at 800 by 600 pixels,
but 1024 by 768 pixels needs a 16-MHz

continued

Table 2: VESA function calls will return status in the AX register concerning
support or nonsupport, success or failure.

PROPOSED VESA FUNCTIONS

Function Purpose
number

OOh

Return Super VGA information. This function returns a pointer to a buffer
containing supported Super VGA capabilities and other pointers.

oi h

Return Super VGA mode information. This function returns a pointer
to a detailed table of size, attributes, and resolution for a specific Super

VGA mode.

Q2h

Set Super VGA video mode This function sets the desired mode,
if available; otherwise, it leaves the environment unchanged.

03 h

Return current video mode.

04h

Save or restore Super VGA video state.

05h

Set CPU video-memory window. This function allows di rect access
to the hardware-paging registers of the video memory.

160 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Amdek te a registered trademark of Amdek Carooraticn Other iradc-marks/owners PS/2, VGA, lInternational Bsj^jne^s Machines *1939 3!anfnrd Resources, Inc

If you’re thinking of
putting an IBM monitor
on your PS/2, you’re not

When it conies to displays* bigger is better. That's
one reason why the Amdek Monitor/432 monochrome
VGA has a big edge over IBM's own standard PS/2
monitor.

But it’s not the only reason. Because the 432 is, after
all, from Amdek. A company with over 12 years experi¬
ence in the computer monitor business, and the leading
independent monochrome supplier.*

The 432s 14"erched-surface, flat screen produces hardly

any glare or distortion. And far less eyestrain than Big
Blue's PS/2 monitor with its smaller, 12" curved screen.

What’s more, IBM's smaller screen also carries a
bigger price tag.

So, if you’re choosing a monochrome monitor for a PS/2
or any AT compatible, remember the company that hasn’t
lost sight of the big picture. Amdek. For the dealer nearest
you,call 1-800-PC AMDEK, J

IS IT REALLY SUPER?

Table 3: Most graphics software runs at 640 by 480pixels today, so the
processor is handling 2.4 times as many pixels as CGA. The higher-resolution
screens will clearly be slower>

EFFECT OF RESOLUTION ON NUMBER OF PIXELS

Video

mode

Resolution

Number
of pixels

Percent
of CGA

CGA

640 x 200

128,000

100

EGA

640 x 350

224,000

175

VGA

640 X 480

307,200

240

Super VGA

800 x 600

480,000

375

8514/A

1024 x 768

786,432

614

AT or 80386-based machine for good
performance in graphics modes.

However, not all the limitations are in
the processor—a 16-bit VGA will be
faster than an 8-bit VGA, provided the
hardware and software used can handle
16-bit graphics access. Unfortunately,
this is the exception rather than the rule.
Look at this another way- Since most
graphics software runs at 640 by 480
pixels today, the processor is handling
2.4 times as many pixels as CGA, but the

higher-re solution screens will clearly be
slower (see table 3). Two other factors
also affect the delays: access to the video
adapter memory, and the number of opera¬
tions required to change a single pixel,

EGA is particularly bad for memory
access, as five out of six memory access¬
es must be dedicated to refreshing the
display, leaving only one out of six for
updates. This is the primary reason for
slow EGA displays,

VGA has a different problem. While

memory access is faster, the larger pixel
array requires as many as five I/O com¬
mands for each update due to the seg¬
mented addressing required to access
256K bytes or 512K bytes from a 64K-
byte address space. While in 16-color
mode, VGA can update two pixels at
once; but in 256-color mode, it must ac¬
cess each pixel separately.

Adding insult to injury, many VGA
adapters still have 8-bit registers even if
they have 16-bit interfaces to the AT bus.
Add further delays due to slower ROM
BIOS access, and the situation can’t get
much worse. The amazing thing is that
good performance is delivered in most
cases because of skillful programming
in the graphics drivers, which are finely
tuned to specific adapter hardware.

To accomplish further performance
gains in the high-resolution area (800 by
600 pixels and up), hardware assistance
in the form of dedicated graphics proces¬
sors will provide the repetitive pixel ma¬
nipulations currently dependent on the
host CPU. Graphics chips available to¬
day include the Intel 82786, the Texas
Instruments 34010 and 34020, and,

continued

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SEE US AT FALL COMDEX IN
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for IBM

162 Fall 1989 • B Y T E IBM Special Edition

Circle 133 on Reader Service Card

OF THE YEAR!

"Readers Poll, Data Based Advisor, February 1989

CATEGORY: BEST DAEVBASE MANAGEMENT
GRAPHICS PACKAGE.

AGE

the most powerful database graphics
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iccording to the readers of Data Based Advisor

f you think that’s impressive, consider this:
he vote was based on dGE 2.0.

tow dGE 30 is here.

dGE 3 jO
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The Graphics Design
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iter you’ve designed the image using pull-down
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’here’s more good news. Version 3 also adds
. font editor, expanded printer support, 3-D bar

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expected near the end of this year, the
chip supporting the IBM 8514/A.

However, this is only half the equa¬
tion. Graphics code today is written for
host-processor bit- and pixel-twiddling.
Changing to outboard chips will require
at least a rewrite of the graphics driver,
and maybe a redesign of the interface.
Functions with repetitive operations,

■ such as line drawing and area fill, are
quick to pass as parameters, but complex
shapes may be slower than the host CPU
can handle. These complex operations
will require bit maps of graphics objects
to move rapidly between the host CPU
and display processor.

Future Directions

Except for Texas Instruments' TIGA
standard for 340x0 boards, the issue of
standards for “smart” video adapters is
two years behind that of the VESA stan¬
dard for VGA boards. As these boards
drop below $1000 in the 1990s and be¬
come mainstream components, the prob¬
lem of proliferation of interfaces will re¬
cur unless VESA or a follow-on group
soon begins the lengthy process of
achieving a standard through consensus.

In addition to the current proposed
VESA standard, other standards work is
planned, and new working groups in¬
clude the 8514/A interface. To those
groups should be added a group for
analysis of performance issues, another
for operating environments like Win¬
dows, and a third to study the transition
issues as software has to support the
smart graphics adapters.

As an end user, you can look forward
to Super VGA as both a beginning and an
end. Graphics-driver standards are be¬
ginning to solve the problems of incom¬
patible hardware, but simple CPU sup¬
port for higher-resolution displays is
coming to an end.

For the near future, 1024 by 768
pixels will be an economic limit for most
of us for graphics displays. This is also
the approximate limit for reasonable per¬
formance when driven directly by an
80386-based CPU. For the next 8 to 12
months, these displays will become more
cost-effective and popular as software
support catches up with hardware capa¬
bility and production volume enables
prices to come down. Beyond that, future
advances of graphics resolution and per¬
formance will depend largely on begin¬
ning to create new standards now. ■

Bill Nicholls has a B.S. degree in physics
from Notre Dame University and is the
owner of BGW Systems (Puyallup, WA).
He can be reached on BIX as “billn. ”

164 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Circle 21 on Reader Service Card
(DEALERS: 22)

What Problems Lurk
In Your Computer?

System Sleuth Knows!

Operating as easy-to-use PC environmental diagnostic software, System
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May, 1989

So before you
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SYSTEM SLEUTH '

Dariana Technology Group Inc.

23704-5 El Toro Road, Suite 34B, El Toro, CA 92630 • (714) 994-7400

System Sleuth is a trademark of Darlana technology Group. Inc. Other brands and product rones are trademcsks of their respective holders.

Circle 87 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS: 88)

BYTE IBM Special Edition * Fall 1989 165

Vl5

WVVAX

or^ot ^ 3

BLTfsBS B£H!4AE/ Northgale charges
credit card sales only when system is
in (he shipping process. Some others
use your money by charging cards at
time of sale. We recommend you
he aw are of this when considering

wViAv***

How can Northgate afford to offer a

286/12 with 32MB hard drive and one full megabyte
of RAM when Dell’s newest Series 210 system, for the
same money doesn't match up?

Maybe it's the high cost of color advertising. We
use two colors and pass the savings on to our
customers. Would you rather get more computer for
the money...or be entertained with color pictures?

Here's B fresh ideB... Make Northgate and

Dell's money-back guarantee program meaningful:
Order from both companies.

1 Full Megabyte RAM

100% greateri

32 Mbyte Hard Drive

50% LARGER!

12 MHz Processor Speed

$ 1699 °°

30 days later send back the loser.

Or keep life simple and place your order with
Northgate. Odds are it's the one you'll keep anyway.

yf&A/kjAyw/'

Northgate Computer Systems. Inc.

13705 First Avenue North
Plymouth. Minnesota 55441

Phone Northgate for full details and pricing

800 - 548-1993

Canada: 800338-8383

FINANCING: Use the Northgate "BigN" revolving credit card instead of
tying up Visa or MC credit. Millions in financing available, easy to qualify.
OR...Lease Northgate with up to five-year terms. Ideal when cash flow Is
important. Phone for details.

© 1989 Northgate. OMNIKEY/102. OmnIKey/Plus and the Northgate N logo are trademarks
of Northgate Computer Systems Inc. AH other product and brand names are trademarks and
registered trademarks of their respective companies

Prices and specifications are subject to change without notice Northgate reserv es the right to
substitute components of equal or greater quality or performance Aj| items subject to
availability

BUYER S SCORE SHEET.

Read the Specs. Check the Leader.

Total the winning checks and make your decision.

Standard

Features

DELL

NORTHGATE

Processor

12 5 MHz 80286

12 MHz 80286

Memory

5I2K

One Megabyte

Video Interface

lb Bit Built-In
(Factory Fixable! Only

16 Bit Add-on
(On-Site Fixablel

Display

12 VGA Mono 31 DP

12 VGA Mono .31 DP

Floppy Drive

One -1.2 or 1 44

One - 1.2 or 1 44

Std. Hard Drive
Capacity

20 Mbyte

32 Mbyte RLL

Hard Drive Type

IDE Built-In

Can use - RLL MFM.

IDE ESDI

I/O Capabilities

2 Ser.. 1 PP

Keyboard

Mushy Touch 101

Famous OmrtiKcy'102

Software

Diagnostic

On-Line Help. MS-DOS

Space Saver Case

15 W. I5”L. 4 H

14 5 W 16.5 L 5.5 "H

Moneyback

Period

30 Days

Warranty

1 Yr. Parts & Labor

Phone Tech
Support

Unlimited. Toll Free

Hours Open -
Sales

Standard Daytime. Eve

24 Hours

All Day Every Day

Hours Open -
Tech

Standard Daytime

24 Hours

All Day Every Day

Total

$1,699

SCORE

DELL

NORTHGATE

And the winner is...

Northgate offers flexible purchase plans including a lease program to fit your Individual
financing needs

P.S Ask about OmniKey/PLUS. the new Northgate Keyboard designed the way you want*

Call NOW!

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Fall 1989 167

When you want to know
all about a computer
system... Ask
Dr. Jerry Poumelle.*

Put a machine in Pournelle’s workshop. He’ll
soon tell you everything you want to know about
it with no punches pulled.

Recently, Dr. Pournelle looked at Northgate's
80386 Pipeline Page Mode system and reported
in BYTE July, 1989 (excerpted):

Merry Pournelle holds a doctorate in psychology and is a
writer who also cams a comfortable living writing
about computers present and future

^ Hot mf

\ 386/20 MHz r
System

Scorching

l 386/20 MHz 14
A Price

COMPt.ETK SYSTEM: 20MHz Processor:
65MB Hard Drive; KIHMHHI KBS Data Transfer:
1MB RAM (Expandable to 16MB): 1.2 and 1.44
high density floppy drives; 14" Monitor; Here*
Com pat. Card; MS-DOS 4.01; Full Size
Desktop Case with 5 drive hays; OnimKey
Keyboard; 1-Year parts/labor warranty;
Replacement parts express overnight at our
expense or At-Your-Office next day onsite
service, one year at no extra cost. THE BEST
PHONE TECH SUPPORT IN THE
COMPUTER BUSINESS. Toll free, unlimited.
NOTE: Pipeline Page Mode system architecture is
preferred in many applications to cache design. It is faster
than all hut the largest cache systems in certain
applications requiring substantial memory calls.

**BUYERS BEWARE! Northgate charges credit card
sales only when system is in the shipping process.
Some others use your money hy charging cards at
time of sate. We recommend you he aware of this
when considering your vendor*

“...the case is sturdy, and the motherboard
construction is dean and neat. The boards are
thick; I’ve seen some clones with boards so thin
they wave in the breeze.”

“...I like this machine a lot.”

”... The workmanship is superior.”

”... there sure wasn’t any installation required
for this system. I just turned it on, and it came up
in MS-DOS 4.01.”

[a software program] ... “which is all graphics is
almost twice as fast on the Northgate 80386 as
on my other machines. So is Windows ...”

“...I rate the Northgate 80386 as better than
good enough on CPU and disk speed and wow!
on video speed.”

Norchfjalc. OMTMlkEV/101. OmnlKey PLUS, and the hlortfigare N logo are trademarks of
North®a» Computer Systems. Inc. All other product end brand names are trademarks and
registered- trademarks oF their respective companies.

“... I have reports from other people who have
Northgate computers, and they’re happy.”

”... All in all, the Northgate 80386 looks like
one of the best deals in town.”

SUDDEN SERVICE: We Ship All Orders
for 386/20 Systems within 4 days!**

800 - 548-1993

NORTHGATE COMPUTER SYSTEMS, INC.

13705 First Avenue North, Plymouth, Minnesota 55441

Canada: 800-338-8383

HOURS: Monday - Friday 7 am -8p.nl, Centra!
NEW EXTENDED SAT HOURS' 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Central

FINANCING: Use the Northgate Big N" revolving credit card instead of
tying up Visa or MC credit Millions in financing available, easy to qualify.
OR,..Lease Northgate with up to five-year terms. Ideal when cash flow is
important Phone for details.

BYTEIBMSpecial Edition * Fall 1989 169

LOOK! lust a few ne

NEW...

Northgate

OmniKey/PLUS

The keyboard you asked us to design!

Thousands of you asked us to make a keyboard
designed the way you want, not what IBM and all their
keyboard clones force on you.

F KEYS ON THE LEFT...

12 easy to reach, programmable
F Keys where they belong and
where your fingers expect to find
them instinctively.

CONVENIENCE CLUSTER ...

Large Backspace Key. hard to
miss: L shaped Enter Key: Bac
slash next to Shift: Unshifted
Asterisk Key—a wonderful adc

Now ... discover OmniKey/PLUS!

As are all our keyboards, Northgate's engineers designed
this gem from the ground up. It’s not a PacRim economy
job anyone can buy. ITS EXCLUSIVELY NORTHGATE.

One look, one touch tells you this is the best in keyboard
design, in quality, in all its many features so you can type
faster, confident all the keys are where you want them.

| Alps Click/Tactile
™ Key Switches

■ Dip Switch
™ compatible with
nearly any IBM PC
type system—PS/2.
Zenith. Compaq.
Dell. Tandy, AT&T

■ OmniKey/PLUS
weighs 5.5 lbs.,
made to stay put on
your desk

■ Cable plugs into
* back of keyboard

■ Low Profile Elegant
™ Styling!

Now! T\vo separate keypads Cursor arrows in logical,
comfortable array—gone is the ill-conceived ”inverted V
And the backslash key is placed ‘ just right.'' See detail
panels.

Will you prefer OmniKey/PLUS enough to discard your
current keyboard? Take ten days to make up your mind.
If not. return for full product cost refund.

Quantities may be limited so call or send your order today.

Introductory Limited Time Price

For Dealer and Distributor Program Pricing, Phone Keyboard
Dept, at 612-553-0734.

170 Fall 1989 • BYTE IBM Special Edition

matures of OmniKey PLUS.

Compatible with
virtually every
IBM type
computer in
the world!

Ten-day trial
return for
unquestioned
full refund

Three-year
unconditional
warranty,
any cause,
we will repair
or replace.

ISOR/SCREEN KEYPAD...

i arrows In familiar diamond
em. No need to hit Num
k or hold down Shift Key.

I we nuked ' the inverted T.

NUMERIC KEYPAD ...

With all the math operands in
place around the numbers. Large
INS. DEL and ENTER Keys. Has
lighted indicators above pad.

New OmniKey'"/102 Model
Also Available . . . $99.00

For those who prefer Northgate’s
OmniKey/102. an up-dated version
now joins our line Same trial offer.

same 3-year warranty.

Yes. Ship my OmniKey order(s).

I understand I may use it for
10 days and if I wish, may return
it for full product cost refund.

I agree to pay for freight
both ways.

Northgate will accept COD
and purchase orders from
credit-worthy buyers for quan¬
tities totalling $500.00 or
greater. Dealer and distributors:
for quantity prices phone our
corporate headquarters
612-553-0734.

FAX orders to 612-553-1695.

SHIPPING: Allow 5 days for
order processing before ship¬
ment. Thereafter, shipments
can be:

Northgate Computer Systems, Inc.

13705 First Avenue North Plymouth. Minnesota 55441

Name __

Company _

Ship to (addressl _

City_State_Zip_

Phone_.

Computer Brand & Type_

Qty.

Item

Shipping

Total

OmniKey 'PLUS’

SI 19.00

OmniKey/102

$ 99.00

or 101

S 99 00

TOTAL OF ORDER_S

•You must specify which cable you require—for additional cables add $21 00 ea
Compatibility Notes: Please read before placing your order.

OmniKey/PLUS is made compatible through a combination of dip
switch settings and the proper connecting cable We must know the
computer make and model you will be using with OmniKey.'PLUS
Otherwise we cannot guarantee compatibdrty

Brand Model I AT/XT I

i. -OC I*

Phone Toll Free

800 - 526-2446

HOURS: Mon.-Fri 7am-8pm. Sat. 8am-4pm Central

NORTHGATE

COMPUTER

SYSTEMS

s /// Northgate Computer Systems, Inc.

13705 First Avenue North
Plymouth, Minnesota 55441

ifiCopyright Northgate Computer Systems, Inc. I960
All Rights Reserved

Northgate, OmnlKey/102. OmnIKay/PLUS. and the Northgate N' togo
are trademarks of Northgate Computer Systems, Inc. A* other product
and brand names are trademarks and registered trademarks of their
respective companies

■ UPS Ground add $7.00 ea.;

Prepaid amount enclosed $

allow 2-3 weeks for delivery.

Please charge to my: □ Visa Li MasterCard

■ Overnight Air add $25.00 ea. Card No_ Expires_

■ Second Day Air add $12.00 ea. Signature of Cardholder_

(My signature authorizes a charge to my account lor the above merchandise prior
to shipping to initiate processing of my order i

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Fall 1989 171

Here’s How Buyers Who Demand
the World’s Highest Performance

and Quality...

Order from Northgate...

DIAL 800-548-1993

Canada 800-338-8383

YOU’11 be connected to a Northgate
Account Manager. In an instant, you’ll
know you’re dealing with a professional. A
highly trained individual who understands
computers and more importantly, under¬
stands people like you.

You’ll immediately feel confident. Your
questions will receive intelligent, careful
consideration. And you’ll get the truth, not
the baloney. i

If you’re strictly shopping for the
lowest price without considering quality
and performance, don't call But if you
want the most computer for your invest¬
ment...a system that runs rings around
the others...with the most meaningful
warranty* in the computer industry...

CALL NORTHGATE TODAY!

* If anything in your Northgate system goes down and disables your
computer. Northgate guarantees to ship the proper replacement part
OVERNIGHT AT OUR FREIGHT EXPENSE. You gel a brand new
pari—be it the largest and most expensive hard drive to the smallest
part—and it 's shipped to you BEFORE YOU RETURN THE OFFEND¬
ING PART. Checkout competition Iri most bases, they must, get the part
bark before you gel a replacement. Often that 's weeks. And you sit there,
out of business until they gel the old part repaired or replaced.

Northgale's phone lech crew is here to back you up. Unlimited phene
help is available for as long as you own your Northgate. And for one year,
you’re protected with Northgate’s Overnight I^arts Replacement War¬
ranty. If a system needs to come back for service, all parts and labor
are FREE unless damage is caused by the end user.

HOURS; Monday through Friday 7 a.m. - 8 p.m, Central
NEW EXTENDED SATURDAY HOURS; 8 a.m, - 4 p.m. Central

GA'
PUTE
EMS

NORTHGATE COMPUTER SYSTEMS, INC.

13705 First Avenue North Plymouth, Minnesota 55441

Call Northgate Today!

Now Northgate Gives You Credit
and No Payments Until 1990*

(Payments begin 90 days from the date your Northgate Computer System is delivered to you.)

2T530^H 5 213BQQ

JOHN 0 D0£

WHY TIE UP
YOUR OTHER
CREDIT CARDS?

Jse the Northgate, 'Big N”
redit card, and avoid the
payment crunch/'

iimply fill out the "Big N"
pplication, and send it in. Prompt
pproval assured!

)nce you’re approved, simply call
>ur TOLL FREE number and one
>f our expert system consultants
an help you design the Northgate
lystem which will best suit your
leeds. and it will be shipped to
ou right away.

lest of all. there will be no
>ayments due on your Northgate
tystem for a full 90 days starting
rom the day you take delivery!

Jorthgate also offers flexible long
erm leasing plans too. You can
:hoose the plan that will best
it your needs, with terms up to
i years.

^one Northgate Now!...

800 - 548-1993

IOURS: Monday - Friday 7 a m. - 8 p.m. Central
IEW EXTENDED SAT HOURS 8 a m - 4 p.m Central
anada Toll Free Order Hodine: 800-338n8383

NOTCE TO WISCONSIN APPLCANTS

>bu must disclose your marital status

□ married

□ unmarried

□ legally separated

BIG N' REQUEST FOR CREDIT

A married person may apply for individual credit. I am applying for (please check appropriate box):

□ JOINT CREDIT with another person Complete entire application

□ INDIVIDUAL CREDIT but rely on income or assets of another person as a basis lor repaying the credit
requested Complete entire application

□ INDIVIDUAL CREDIT. Complete sections "a” and “b" only

Please complete all appropriate sections, providing at least two year s residence and employment history This will enable your application to be
processed as quickly as possible. It you are sell employed, please be sure to complete section “D" on back

Applicants must be 18 years of age or older.

a. Your Personal Information

Requested Lme o* Credit $_

Apt ff

City

Dale of Residence:

Dale el Birttt: Social Security Humber

Day _Y>_

State Zip Heme Phene

i \

Monthly ferment: S

Buy Rent Other

□ DP

From

(II sell employed, see rear panel)

Crty

Gross S

*ess Phone:

J l

From

income Irom jfcmcry. cned support or

jDatej

Name and Address ol Nearest Relative Not Living v

b. Credit Information

Bank Account.

Bank Name

Address

□ Checking

□ Savings

Bank Account.

^ Checking

□ Savings

Bank Loan Brtotnce:

Payment

Balance

n MBA

Bank Card Reference Mastercard

Other Credit

Card Reference

Account No Expires:

Expnes

c. Joint Applicant’s Personal Information

Is H

Street

Apt #

Crty

Date el Binh

Me, Pay

Date at Residence

Mo vr_

Date el

Mo Yr

Crty

d. Self-Employed Information Complete this section only il you are sett employed

Proprietor she Corporation

Description ol Business

Busmess Telephone
( )

m Busmess
Since

Busmess
annual income

The mil provide at Mast ewe el the to—wing:

Arsocial Banker's Name

3. financial statement en business attached.

BYI1089

Complete this application and mail to Northgate today!

NORTHGATE COMPUTER SYSTEMS, INC.

3705 First Avenue North, Plymouth, Minnesota 55441

•Interest will accrue during deferred period. 1.5% per month. 18% APR.
• * Based on purchase price of $ 1.299.00 on the "Big N" revolving charge.
Proces subject to change without notice. Offer not valid for APO
or FPO customers.

©Copyright Northgate Computer Systems. Inc 1489 All Rights Reserved
Northgate. OMNIKEY/102 OmruKey PLUS, and the Northgate N' logo are trademarks of
Northgate Computer Systems Inc AH other product and brand names are trademarks and
registered trademarks of their respective companies.

BYTE IBM Special Edition •

Fall 1989 173

This text editing program—
including pull-down menus,
scroll bars, and all other
Windows items—was created with
just two lines of Actor code.

Text Editor

Actor' is the fastest, easiest way to develop applica¬
tions for Microsoft* Windows. The reason—Actors
reusable toolkit of objects such as dialog boxes
and edit windows. It more than
doubles your overall productivity,
making Actor an essential part
of any Windows development
project.

A full-featured, interactive,

Windows-based programming
environment. Actor provides
immediate compilation, inter¬
active testing, and source-code
debugging. You can use it to
produce fast standalone applica¬
tions that support all Windows
features, including Dynamic

Data Exchange (DDE) and expanded memory.

Actor is a powerful, pure object-oriented pro¬
gramming language. It’s all you need to develop
complete Windows applications.
You also have the option to
dynamically link Microsoft C
code to your Actor program.

Either way, it’s the fastest way
to produce everything from proto¬
types to complete development
projects. No wonder so many de¬
velopers are already using Actor.

Call us now for more
information.

The sooner you do, the sooner
you can speed up your Windows
development work.

These two lines of Actor code are all if took to
produce the Windows text editing program you
see above . Just think what you can do with a few
more lines.

The Whitewater Group ®

600 Davis Street
Evanston, Illinois 60201 U.S.A.
(312) 328-3800
FAX (312) 328-9386

(800) 869-1144

Two New Products
For C or Actor Programmers

WinTrieve™

ISAM indexed file manager. Only $395, no royalties.

Whitewater Resource Toolkit™

Edit dialog boxes, bitmaps, icons and more. Only $195.

Circle 247 on Reader Service Card

TBM SPECIAL ISSUE

SQL: A Database
Language Sequel

TOdBASE

A look at SQL’s command structure shows why
it’s likely to become a new standard

Mark L. Van Name and Bill Catchings

or many years, dBASE has been the dominant
microcomputer database language. While
dBASE undoubtedly still has a long life ahead
of it, another database language, SQL (pro¬
nounced ‘'sequel”), is emerging as a second
standard for both database servers and stand-alone microcom¬
puter databases.

SQL has for several years been the standard language for
mainframe and minicomputer relational database systems. As
such, it offers microcomputer users a single language for both
stand-alone and host databases. SQL is particularly good for
working with such host or server databases, in large part be¬
cause it can manipulate groups of records at a time—an impor¬
tant capability when you’re reading records over a network.

SQL also tries to minimize the effort that a database pro¬
grammer must expend to retrieve data. It is a nonprocedural
language: You tell a SQL database system what data you need,
not how to get that data.

SQL is not, however, a full application development lan¬
guage like dBASE. While many SQL vendors have added pro¬
gramming extensions to the language, it’s designed to work in
conjunction with such traditional programming languages as
COBOL, Pascal, PL/I, or C.

A Long History

SQL has been around since 1974-1975, when IBM developed
the first version, SEQUEL (for Structured English Query Lan¬
guage), at the company’s San Jose research center as part of a
prototype relational database system, SEQUEL-XRM. A sec¬
ond version, SEQUEL/2, followed in 1976-1977 as part of
IBM’s System R relational database prototype.

SQL emerged from the research world in 1979 in a commer¬
cial database system, Oracle, from Oracle Corp. (then Rela¬
tional Software). Oracle actually beat IBM to market with
SQL, but TBM brought out its own products in the early
1980s—first SQL/DS for DOS/VSE mainframes, and then
DB2 for MVS systems.

Where IBM goes, others are sure to follow; today, over 100
vendors offer versions of SQL. SQL microcomputer implemen¬
tations abound, including IBM’s OS/2 Extended Edition Data¬
base Manager, Oracle Corp.’s Oracle, Relational Technol¬
ogy’s INGRES, the Sybase/Microsoft/Ashton-Tate SQL
Server, the SQL component of dBASE IV, and Gupta Technol¬
ogies’ SQLBase.

All these versions follow, to at least some degree, a SQL
standard that the X3H2 Database Committee of ANSI started
developing in 1982. That group’s initial proposal, which ANSI
ratified in 1986, was very similar to IBM’s DB2 dialect of
SQL.

SQL’s Many Faces

The ANSI SQL standard establishes a common target for the
many SQL vendors, but it by no means precisely defines a sin¬
gle, all-inclusive language. In fact, no two versions of SQL,
even those that are ANSI-compatible, are identical. The differ¬
ences between SQL versions are due largely to the two different
ways in which users and programmers must work with SQL.

Most SQL database vendors offer one or more interactive
utilities that accept SQL. With such tools a user can, for exam¬
ple, write a SQL statement that requests the records of all the
salespeople in Minneapolis, and then see those records. The
dialects of such interactive products generally follow the ANSI
standard, but they cannot do so completely.

That inability isn’t the fault of the vendors; the ANSI stan¬
dard doesn’t define an interactive version of SQL. Instead, it
concentrates on making SQL work with such traditional pro¬
gramming languages as COBOL and PL/I. The standard actu¬
ally defines two different ways for SQL to work in program¬
ming languages.

Differences between interactive and programming language
versions of SQL are almost unavoidable because of the way the
two environments must handle multiple records that satisfy a
single request. An interactive environment can just display

continued

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Fail 1989 175

Circle 102 on Reader Service Card

SQL: A DATABASE
LANGUAGE SEQUEL TO dBASE

FEATURES: 1MB RAM, 80286 BASED
PROCESSOR, 10MHZ, (1) 1.44MB 3.5"
FLOPPY, 20MB FIXED DISK, VGA
ADAPTER, PS/2 101 KEY K/B,
PARALLEL & SERIAL PORT, CABLES
& MANUALS, 100% IBM PRODUCT
**REMANUFACTURED**

NEW $3,595.00
jH| OUR PRICE $1,888,00

INCL. 90 DA Y DEPOT WARRANTY ,
JUST LIKE NEW UNITS!

FREE NEW AMDEK MODEL 432 VGA
MONITOR INCL. WITH EVERY UNIT
$.245.00 VALUE AT NO CHARGE!

MmiML, am,

visa 1-800-624-2001 mc

716-272-8770 FAX 716-272-8624

IBM 5 YEARS BEHIND !!!
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DISTRIBUTED DATABASE
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
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The first and only one on the market with multiple remote locations
DataBase Management

View and perform data base operations on two remote data bases
thousands of miles apart on the same screen at the same time!
dBase HI, IV, Fox-B ASE, Clipper queried record transfer and binary
File transfer!

Concurrent Database operations in network environment Distributed
Querying Processing,

Transfer only the updated records and not the whole database!
Results in 95% savings on your long-distant telephone hill or
more!

Batch Unattended Operations with timed scheduling capability* On¬
line Interactive Operations. Password protection/log File. Powerful
and user friendly. Professional Technical Support* 30 day satisfaction
money back guarantee. Supports 300-9600 baud.

Requires MS-DOS 3,0 or higher, 512KB RAM and Hayes compatible
modem.

Only $250 per copy for significant on-line savings
MC/VISA

Database & Datacom Solutions
3611 S. Harbor Blvd* Suite 215
Santa Ana, CA 92704
(714) 434-1000

those records in a suitable format, hiding any programming de¬
tails from the user. But a programmer must contend with a lim¬
itation of most traditional languages: They are not designed for
procedures that return a variable number of records, as SQL
statements can.

In the following discussion of SQL statements, we'll use a
syntax much like what you would find in an interactive SQL
utility. Then we'll explain how the ANSI standard lets you use
SQL statements in a programming language. Because SQL is a
large and comprehensive language, and one whose complete ex¬
planation has filled many books, we will necessarily cover
only its key parts. They should serve, however, to illustrate
how SQL works and what you can do with it.

Data by Definition

SQL is in a sense two languages in one: It's a data definition
language (DDL), with which you can define a database, and it's
also a data manipulation language (DML), with which you can
manipulate the records in that database. We'll start with the
DDL.

SQL is based on the relational database model, where a data¬
base is a collection of one or more named tables. Each table is
an unordered collection of rows, each of which has a fixed num¬
ber of columns. Each column has a beading (name) and a data
type. ANSI SQL defines three basic data types: character
strings, exact numbers, and approximate numbers—roughly
the strings, integers, and floating-point numbers of most pro¬
gramming languages.

Obviously, these tables, rows, and columns have analogs in
traditional files, records, and fields. But they differ in that SQL
lacks an order for the rows in a table. If you ask for all the rows
that satisfy some criteria, SQL will return those rows to you in
an implementation-specific order—and it won't necessarily
maintain that ordering in subsequent queries. If you want to get
the rows back in a specific order, there's a SQL verb that lets
you do so.

Unlike the rows, the columns in a table do maintain the order
in which you define them. That order is important primarily to
the INSERT command, which well discuss later.

In addition to permitting you to define individual tables, any
relational system must enable you to relate those tables. When
you want to express a relationship between rows in two tables,
you use values in columns. Consider the following two simpli¬
fied tables:

Table Name: Employees

Columns: Employee_Id, Last.Name,

First-Name, Address, City,
State, Zip

Table Name: Dependents

Columns: Employee_Id, Last_Name,

First_Name

To make "Donald Smith" a dependent of "Judith Smith," you
put Judith Smith's employee ID in the Employee_Id column of
Donald Smith's dependent row. The two columns that form the
relationship—in this case, the Employee_Id column in each
table—must have the same data type.

While you use this mechanism to relate rows, in SQL you
never define such relationships. Instead, you define the tables
and columns and then use the relationship in record retrievals
when you need it.

SQL translates the relational database model into a database
definition with several DDL statements. A SQL database defi¬
nition is a group consisting of one or more schemata. A schema

176 BYTE* NOVEMBER 1989 Circle 77on Reader Service Card

Circle 8 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS: 9)

the PC for a living, then you know what a challenge it is to keep track
hundreds of programming facts and details.

This new book PC System Programming for Developers is a lift
encyclopedia of knowledge for the DOS programmer. It clearly expla
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SQL: A DATABASE LANGUAGE SEQUEL TO dBASE

is a definition of the part of the database that each user owns.
For example, the SQL statement

CREATE SCHEMA AUTHORIZATION USER1

creates a schema that USER1 owns.

Once you’ve created a schema, you can define its tables, all
of which start out empty. To define the two sample tables from
above, you would issue the following commands:

CREATE TABLE Employees

( Employee_Id DECIMAL^) NOT NULL UNIQUE,
Last.Name CHAR(15),

First_Name CHAR(15),

Address CHAR(15),

City CHAR(15),

State CHAR(2),

Zip CHAR(10) )

CREATE TABLE Dependents

( Employee.Id DECIMAL^) NOT NULL,

Las t_ Name CHAR(15),

First_Name CHAR(15) )

Each CREATE TABLE statement gives the table’s name, along
with the name and data types of each of that table’s columns.

Each table in each schema must have a unique name. It is
possible, however, for two tables in two different schemata to
have the same name. When that happens, you distinguish those

tables by referring to them with the qualified form U. T , where
U is the name of the user who owns the schema and T is the
table’s name. So, if there were another Employees table in a
different schema, you might refer to your table as USER1-
. Employees.

You refer to columns in a similarly qualified form, T.C,
where T is the table name and C is the column name. (You can
sometimes omit the T qualifier when the context makes it clear
to SQL which column you want.) Thus, Employees.Last_
Name and Dependents.Last_Name identify two of the fields in
our example. We could still further qualify Employees, as in
USERl.Employees.Last_Name, if there were a second Employ¬
ees table in another schema.

We introduced two new elements in these examples: NOT
NULL and UNIQUE. Any row can be missing the value for any
column unless the definition of that column includes a NOT
NULL qualifier. Because we wanted to force every row in both
tables to include at least an employee ID, we made those col¬
umns NOT NULL. The UNIQUE qualifier on Employees.Em¬
ployee^ d forces every row in the Employees table to have a
unique employee ID. You can use this qualifier only on col¬
umns that are NOT NULL.

Other Commands

With the statements described above, you can define a complete
ANSI SQL database. There are, however, a few other impor¬
tant DDL commands.

The CREATE VIEW statement lets you define a subset of a

continued

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Fall 1989 177

SQL; A DATABASE LANGUAGE SEQUEL TO dBASE

table. A view is a subset of the columns of a table and, option¬
ally, a query that selects a subset of the table’s rows. If, for
example, we wanted a view that listed the employee IDs and last
names of all employees who live in Florida, we would enter

CREATE VIEW Floridians ( Employee.Id, Last_Name )
AS SELECT Emp!oyee_Id, Last_Nanie
FROM Employees
WHERE State = T FL f

Note that the SELECT statement defines a query that picks the
rows we wanted.

Once you define a view, you can treat it almost as if it were
another table. The only difference is that SQL doesn’t let you
update the rows of certain classes of views; basically, you can
update rows in any view whose columns all come from a single
table, as long as it includes all the NOT NULL columns from
that table.

SQL’s DDL also contains a statement, GRANT, which con¬
trols database security. The GRANT statement has the follow¬
ing form:

GRANT coperstion> ON <table> TO <user>

In this statement, coperst Ion > is one or more of the SQL
DML verbs (such as SELECT or INSERT). For example,
USER1 could let USER2 query the Employees table by entering

GRANT SELECT ON Employees TO USER2

As it stands, this statement doesn’t let USER2 pass on this
ability to other users. To add that ability, you must append the
WITH GRANT OPTION clause:

GRANT SELECT ON Employees TO USER2 WITH GRANT OPTION

You can also take shortcuts. You can let a user do anything to
a table by replacing coperstion> with ALL. And you can open
a table to all users by using PUBLIC instead of a user name.

After the Definition: DML

Once you’ve defined a database, you can begin working on it.
SQL has four main DML verbs: INSERT, SELECT, UPDATE,
and DELETE. All these verbs can work on more than one row
at a time.

The SELECT statement is the heart of the language. It lets
you query the database. Its result is essentially an unnamed,
temporary relation that contains the data you requested. The
SELECT statement follows this pattern:

SELECT < selection >

FROM <table_list>

<optionaJ^query>

Here, <selection> is the list of fields that you want, and
<table_list> is a comma-separated list of the tables that
you’re using in the query.

If you wanted all the rows of the Dependents table, for exam¬
ple, you would enter

SELECT Employee_Xd, Lastjtfame, Firstjtfame
FROM Dependents

There are several other options for performing even this simple
query. To avoid individually listing all the columns in a table

when you want them all, you can replace <selection> with an
asterisk (*). Thus, another way to express the above query is as
follows:

SELECT *

FROM Dependents

By default, SELECT will return to you all the rows that
match the query criteria that you present, even if some of those
rows are completely redundant. In our example, if two parents
work together and the company stores each dependent row
twice (once for each parent), the above query would return
those redundant rows. To eliminate them, you add the DIS¬
TINCT qualifier:

SELECT DISTINCT *

FROM Dependents

If you want to be sure to retain those rows, you can use the ALL
qualifier in place of DISTINCT, but ALL is the default.

Some queries naturally span several tables. If, for example,
you wanted the first names of all dependents of employees in
Florida, you would need to use the following, more compli¬
cated SELECT:

SELECT Dependents.Firs

FROM Dependents * Employees
WHERE ( Employees.State = 1 FL 1 )

AND ( Employees,Employee_Id =
Dependents,Employee = Id )

This example illustrates several more options. First, you’re
retrieving from more than one table, so you must list both tables
in the FROM clause. Next, because there’s a First_Name field
in both tables, you have to qualify which one you want. Finally,
you’re now using the <optional_query> clause. This clause
can be far more complex than space permits us to cover fully
here, but a few key portions are worth noting.

For a standard query, you first use the keyword WHERE and
then give a Boolean expression that identifies the rows you
want. That expression can contain groups of comparison
clauses much like those of most programming languages,
which you can separate and group by using AND, OR, and pa¬
rentheses. The parentheses in the above example aren’t neces¬
sary, but they make the query easier to read.

The comparisons in a WHERE clause can involve a field and
a value, or two fields. In our example, the first comparison
chooses employees whose state is f FL p . The second compari¬
son is more complicated; it performs what relational systems
call a join. A join lets you choose matching rows in two differ¬
ent tables. In this example, we ask for all the Dependents
whose Employee_Id column matches the Empioyee_Id column
in any Employee record—in other words, the dependents of all
employees. The SQL system puts these two clauses together so
that you get only dependents of employees in Florida.

Joins can be very expensive because they can retrieve many
rows; in this example, finding the dependents of all employees
could lake a lot of time. The SQL philosophy is that you should
state the query you want and leave to the system the task of fig¬
uring out an efficient way to retrieve the data. In this example,
it’s more effective for the system first to find all employees in
Florida and then to join those rows to their dependents’ rows,
rather than to do the join first.

The problem of determining how best to execute a SELECT

continued

178 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Solutions.

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6401 Congress Avenue, Boca Raton, FL 33487 • Phone: 407/997-6227 • FAX: 407/997-0918

BOCARAM/AT PLUS, BOCARAM/AT I/O PLUS. BOCARAM/AT. BOCARAM/XT. and BOCARAM/30 are trademarks of Boca Research. Inc. All other references to computer systems, software,
and peripherals use trademarks owned by (heir respective- manufacturers. © Copyright 1989 Boca Research, Inc.

Circle 33 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS: 34)

SQL: A DATABASE LANGUAGE SEQUEL TO dBASE

query is called query optimization, and it’s an area in which
SQL vendors are constantly trying to best one another. Most
SQL systems also have guidelines that help you frame your que¬
ries in a way that the system is most likely to execute efficiently,
but those guidelines vary widely.

Our example will return the First_Names we wanted, but
the order in which they will appear is unknown. We can control
that order with the ORDER BY option. The query

SELECT Dependents.First_Name
FROM Dependents, Employees
WHERE ( Employees.State = »FL f )

AND ( Employees.Employee_Id =

Dependents.Employee_Id )

ORDER BY Dependents.First_Name ASC

returns the first names in ascending order. Because ASC (for
ascending) is the default in an ORDER BY clause, we could
have omitted it here and produced the same result. To see the
names in descending order, replace ASC with DESC.

There’s much more to the SELECT statement; you can nest
selects, group results, and compute functions like MIN, MAX,
and AVG over the groups, and you can execute many other
functions. You can also use more complicated comparison op¬
erators, including range checks and partial string matches.

Three other SQL verbs let you manipulate the rows in a table.
You add new rows to a table with the INSERT statement. In its
simplest form, you just give a table name and the values for the
columns of the new row. The statement

INSERT INTO Dependents
VALUES ( 55816, ’Jones 1 , ’Fred’ )

creates a new dependent, Fred Jones, for employee 55816. Be¬
cause SQL remembers the order of a table’s columns, we don’t
need to include any column names. If you want to insert the
column values in a different order, you can list the columns,
after the table name, in that new order, as in

INSERT INTO Dependents ( First_Name, Last_Name,

Employee_Id )

VALUES ( ’Fred', 'Jones’, 55816 .)

You can also leave any columns null that the table’s defini¬
tion allows. To omit the first name from the new row above, use
the NULL keyword:

INSERT INTO Dependents ( First_Name, Last_Name,

Employee_Id )

VALUES ( NULL, 'Jones', 55816 )

You can use a more complicated form of INSERT to insert
multiple rows at once. This form uses a SELECT statement as
the source of its rows. For example, if we had a temporary
table, Temporary, whose definition had only First_Name and
Last _Name fields, we could use the following INSERT state¬
ment to fill it with the names of all Florida employees:

INSERT INTO Temporary ( Last_Name, First_Name )

SELECT Las t_ Name, First_Name

FROM Employees

WHERE Employees.State = 'FL'

You can change values in specific rows with the UPDATE
statement. UPDATE uses a WHERE clause just like the one in

SELECT to identify the row or rows that you want to change.
For example, if the last name of employee 55816 changes to
Jones-Smith, you can make that correction in all dependent
records with the statement

UPDATE Dependents

SET Last_Name = 'Jones-Smith'

WHERE Employee_Id = 55816

The DELETE statement similarly uses a WHERE clause to
identify the rows that you want to remove. To delete all depen¬
dents for employee 55816, enter

DELETE FROM Dependents
WHERE Employee_Id = 55816

Obviously, with this kind of power you have to be careful. If
you leave off the WHERE clause, as in

DELETE FROM Dependents

you delete all the rows in the Dependents table. The table defi¬
nition itself remains, but the rows are gone. Fortunately, SQL
also defines some transaction controls that provide a way to
undo many errors.

A SQL transaction is a series of one or more commands that
can end either normally or abnormally. If a transaction ends
normally, all its commands are done. If a transaction ends ab¬
normally, then none of its commands are done. The SQL sys¬
tem guarantees that the database is never in an inconsistent
state (i.e., a state where one or more transactions are partially
done).

To end a transaction normally, we use the verb COMMIT.
COMMIT WORK completes the current transaction. It also ef¬
fectively starts a new transaction; you’re always working in a
transaction.

Its counterpart is ROLLBACK; ROLLBACK WORK cancels
all the database changes of the current transaction. The data¬
base then appears as it would if the transaction had never oc¬
curred. By using ROLLBACK right after our earlier accidental
deletion, you could undo that mistake.

SQL in Programming Languages

. The SQL standard concentrates on making the SQL commands
work with traditional programming languages. It offers two
ways to do this.

The less frequently used approach is called the module lan¬
guage. In it, you write a module that consists of a header and a
series of procedures. The procedures contain only parameter
definitions and one or more SQL statements.

For example, a module that lets us perform our simple DE¬
LETE might be

MODULE Deletion_Work LANGUAGE PLI AUTHORIZATION
USER1

PROCEDURE Delete_Deps
SQLCODE;

Emp_Id DECIMAL(5);

DELETE FROM Dependents
WHERE Dependents.Employee_Id =

Emp_Id;

Emp_Id is a parameter that will contain the ID of the employee
whose dependents we want to delete. Note the special

continued

180 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

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At Boca Research, we’re committed to video. For more information on these and other
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Bncn

RESEARCH INC

6401 Congress Avenue, Boca Raton, FL 33487 • Phone: 407/997-6227 • FAX: 407/997-0918

VGA by BOCA. MULTI-EGA by BOCA, EGA by BOCA, and DUAL GRAPHICS ADAPTER are trademarks of Boca Research, Inc. All other references to computer systems, software, and peripherals
are trademarks owned by their respective manufacturers. © Copynght 1989 Boca Research. Inc.

Circle 35 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS: 36)

SQL: A DATABASE LANGUAGE SEQUEL TO dBASE

parameter SQLCODE; SQL requires this parameter in every
procedure. When the procedure finishes, SQLCODE will con¬
tain the result of the operation—positive for success, and nega¬
tive for failure.

We could then call this procedure from a program in the
usual way. In PL/I, it would be

CALL Delete_Deps ( return_code, 55816 );

Real modules would, of course, contain many more compli¬
cated procedures, but they would follow the same framework
as our example.

The big advantage of the module language is that it requires
very little from the host programming language. A new SQL-
specific compiler can compile the module into an appropriate
form, and then the host language needs only to be able to call
and link to the module’s procedures. Most systems support
some form of cross-language procedure calls, so these require¬
ments are easy to meet.

However, the module language is not very satisfactory, be¬
cause you must write and compile all your SQL statements sep¬
arately. To provide a more unified programming environment,
the SQL standard also includes a series of appendixes that de¬
fine embedded versions of SQL for several languages.

An embedded version is designed to fit more smoothly into
the language itself. It would be possible for vendors to imple¬
ment embedded SQL by changing the compiler, but, instead,
most provide preprocessors that convert embedded SQL into
more-primitive calls that the underlying database system un¬
derstands.

Embedded SQL lets you put SQL statements in the middle of
ordinary code by prefixing those statements with EXEC SQL.
For example, we could use embedded SQL to replace the above
CALL to the SQL procedure with this code fragment:

EXEC SQL DELETE FROM Dependents

WHERE Dependents.Employee_Id = 55816;

Most SQL vendors today offer embedded SQL for one or more
languages.

The one remaining problem for SQL in programming lan¬
guages lies in dealing with multiple rows. SQL solves this prob¬
lem with a simple technique borrowed from traditional file pro¬
cessing: It defines a cursor that marks the current position in
the group of result rows.

You declare a cursor by giving the SELECT statement that
defines it. A cursor for the example that selected the first
names of dependents of Floridian employees would look like
the following:

EXEC SQL DECLARE Cl CURSOR FOR

SELECT Dependents.First_Name
FROM Dependents, Employees
WHERE ( Employees.State = 'FL' )

AND ( Employees.Employee_Id =
Dependents.Employee_Id )
ORDER BY Dependents.First_Name ASC ;

You can also include variables in these definitions, as long as
you first declare those variables in a special SQL declaration
section. To make this example work for any state, you could use
the following:

EXEC SQL BEGIN DECLARE SECTION;

DCL state CHAR(2);

DCL name CHAR(15);

EXEC SQL END DECLARE SECTION;

EXEC SQL DECLARE Cl CURSOR FOR

SELECT Dependents.First_Name
FROM Dependents, Employees
WHERE ( Employees.State = :state )

AND ( Employees.Employee_Id =
Dependents.Employee_Id )

ORDER BY Dependents.First_Name ASC;

The colon in front of state in the SELECT statement identifies
state as a variable. (We’ll consider the other variable, name,
below.)

Once you’ve defined a cursor, you treat it much like a file.
First you open it, and then you can cycle through its rows until
there are no more. You could retrieve all the Floridian depen¬
dents using the above cursor in only a few statements, as the
following pseudocode demonstrates (we ignore error checking
here to save space).

state = f FL'; /# pick the state

you want */

EXEC SQL OPEN Cl; /* tell SQL to

perform the query #/

DO WHILE <more employees> /# read all rows

the query retrieved #/

EXEC SQL FETCH Cl INTO :name; /* now do what

you will with
the name you
retrieved #/

END;

EXEC SQL CLOSE Cl;

You can treat these three EXEC SQL options—OPEN,
FETCH, and CLOSE—much like typical file open, read, and
close statements.

Once you’re on a record, you can change it with UPDATE or
delete it with DELETE; both commands have embedded SQL
versions that work on the current cursor row. Again, this is
much like traditional file operations. You finish your work in
the usual SQL way, with a COMMIT or ROLLBACK (pre¬
fixed, of course, by EXEC SQL).

The Rest of the Story

SQL is a large and powerful language, and we’ve hit on only
the high points. While it may at first seem intimidating, SQL is
similar to many of the file-querying tools that users have had on
microcomputers for years. Once you’re familiar with the
SELECT statement, SQL’s embedded versions closely resem¬
ble traditional file-processing functions.

SQL lets an organization use a single language to link its
microcomputer, minicomputer, and mainframe databases. It is
also the language that virtually all the announced LAN data¬
base servers support. As such links to host and server data¬
bases become more important, SQL will emerge as the second
microcomputer database language standard. ■

Mark L. Van Name , a BYTE consulting editor , and Bill Catch-
ings are independent computer consultants and freelance writ¬
ers based in Raleigh , North Carolina. You can reach them on
BIX as “mvanname” and “wbc3, ” respectively.

182 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Micro Channel Solutions.

Whatever your Micro Channel requirements...

Boca Research answers with
the right solutions.

BOCARAM.MCA 50Z — "...the product that
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RESEARCH INC

6401 Congress Avenue, Boca Raton, FL 33487 • Phone: 407/997-6227 • FAX: 407/997-0918

BOCARAM. MCA50Z, BOCARAM 50/60, BOCA.MCA PARALLEL, and BOCA.MCA SERIAL/PARALLEL are trademarks of Boca Research, Inc. All other references to computer systems, software
and peripherals use trademarks owned by their respective manufacturers. © Copyright 1989 Boca Research, Inc.

Circle 37 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS: 38)

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Circle 96 an Reader Service Card (DEALERS: 97)

FOR L A N

NOV1U till

TESTED and
APPROVED

Compciubtai

IBM SPECIAL ISSUE

Unix Filenames

for

Turbo Pascal

Metaname is a simple unit that provides the flexibility
of Unix filenames for Turbo Pascal programs

Jim Kerr

ost operating systems

M permit the use of wild¬
card characters, or meta¬
characters , in commands
that make reference to
files. Metacharacters allow you to refer
to certain files as a group, rather than
having to specify the individual file¬
names. Unix, however, provides a more
sophisticated way of specifying file¬
names than DOS does.

MS-DOS has just two meta¬
characters, * and 7. The *
character represents any se¬
quence of zero or more char¬
acters, and ? represents any
single character. (MS-DOS
filenames cannot contain the
characters fl / \ [ ] :![<>- +

= ; # and ?.)

In the Unix operating sys¬
tem, there are five metachar¬
acters: * ? [ ] - The # char¬
acter matches any sequence of
zero or more characters, in¬
cluding the period, and can be
followed by other characters.

The symbol ? matches any
single character. The remain¬
ing three metacharacters are
used to define character
classes , Character classes are
just sets of characters, and
they’re described by a syntax
similar to that used for sets in
Pascal. For example, the
character class [akp-s6] in-

pressions*

Given a metacharacter ex¬
pression for filenames, how
can you tell if a particular
filename matches the pat¬
tern? I’ll discuss an algorithm
to answer this in the next sec¬
tion and then describe a
Turbo Pascal unit that imple¬
ments the file-matching algo¬
rithm. Using the Metaname
unit (described in detail
later), a Turbo Pascal pro¬
gram can use Unix metachar¬
acters in filename searches.
This is illustrated in a simple
demo program that accompa¬
nies the source code for this
article.

Finite Automata

In automata theory, a lan¬
guage is defined as any col¬
lection of strings. In this
context, a metacharacter

continued

eludes the characters a, k, p through z
(inclusive), and 6,

Note the special meaning of the hy¬
phen in this example. When it appears in
a character class between two other char¬
acters, the hyphen is interpreted as a
range indicator. The hyphen may also be
interpreted literally. This occurs if it ap¬
pears as the first or last character in a
character class, or if it appears outside

the character-class specification. For ex¬
ample, the character class *-# matches
all filenames that contain a hyphen,
while ?[-0-9]* matches all filenames
that have a hyphen or a digit in position 2.
The hyphen has a sort of dual nature; de¬
pending on the context, it may be inter¬
preted as either a metacharacter or a lit¬
eral. For the sake of convenience, Til
refer to file masks containing metachar¬
acters as metacharacter ex¬

BYTE IBM Special Edition - Fall 1989 185

UNIX FILENAMES FOR TURBO PASCAL

Figure 1: A nondeterministic finite automaton that accepts the metacharacter
expression f # [d-z ] # [xy z ].

Table 1: Operation of the finite automaton in figure 1 on the input string

fuzzy.

Unread input

State set

fuzzy

[0}

Lizzy

[1]

zzy

[1.2]

n .2.3!

fl.2.3)

f 1.2.3]

expression such as f*[d-z]?? describes
a language—namely, the language of all
strings that fit the implied pattern. To de¬
termine whether a filename is in the lan¬
guage L associated with a metacharacter
expression, 1*11 use a language-recogni¬
tion device called a finite automaton or
finite state machine. This device takes a
string as input, performs some computa¬
tions, and then signals whether or not the
string is in the language L.

Were it not for the metacharacter ■*,
filename matching would be easy. To de¬
termine whether a filename matches the
expression f[aeiou]?, for example, you
would only need to check that the file¬
name begins with f, contains a vowel in
the next position, and terminates after
the third character.

Once you include # in the metachar¬
acter repertoire, however, file matching
becomes more complicated. To see why,
consider what happens if the metachar¬
acter expression is f*[d- 2 ]#[xy 2 ] and
the filename is fuzzy. It’s easy to see
that the leading characters match, but
what about the second character? Should
the u be matched to the metacharacter *,
or should it be assigned to the character
class [d-z]7 When considering how to
match the third character, z, you again
have two options. You have to be pre¬
pared to manage several simultaneous
decision paths when seeking a possible
match. Understanding finite automata is
helpful in understanding the element of

nondeterminism introduced by the meta¬
character *.

Perhaps the best way to illustrate how
a finite automaton works is through an
example. Figure 1 shows the finite au¬
tomaton for the metacharacter expression
f# [d~z] * [xyz]. The automaton consists
of states, labeled s 0 through s^ t and
labeled arcs connecting the states. The
labels on the arcs indicate which charac¬
ters permit a transition from one state to
the next. In any automaton, there are two
special states. State s 0 is called the start
state , because this is the state in which
the automaton begins operating. State s$
is the final state . In a certain sense, the
final state represents the goal of the com¬
putation. Most often, the start state is in¬
dicated with an arrow, while the final
state is drawn as a double circle.

The process of running a finite autom¬
aton is something like navigating through
a maze. In a maze, there are prescribed
start and stop positions, and restrictions
on which direction you can go from any
point. Moreover, it's not always clear
which choice of direction will bring you
to the desired goal. In a finite automaton,
there are designated start and final
states, and restrictions on when you can
move from one state to another. As in a
maze, there may be several states to
move to under some circumstances, and
the proper choice may become clear only
in retro spect.

Initially, the automaton is in state

Thereafter, characters are read from the
input string one at a time. Each time a
character is read, the automaton makes a
transition from some state s ( to some state
s Jf if the arcs permit it. For a given input
character, there may be no legal transi¬
tions, exactly one, or more than one.

For example, if the automaton is in
state Si and the input character is q, the
machine can either stay in s } (using the
arc labeled *) or move to $ 2 , The opera¬
tion of the automaton is not determined
solely by the input string, because the
machine can sometimes "choose" which
state to enter next. For this reason, au¬
tomata such as this are referred to as non¬
deterministic finite automata .

If there’s some way to move from the
start state to the final state such that the
final state is entered after the last input
character has been read, the finite au¬
tomaton “accepts" the string; otherwise,
it’s rejected. For the automaton in figure
1, with the input string fuzzy, the proper
choice of transitions yields the sequence
S(r>s 1 ->sr>si->s 1 ->s 3 . Several other se¬
quences are possible—for example, s 0
but none of these
leave the automaton in state when all
input has been consumed.

For a given automaton and input
string, how can you tell whether there's a
sequence of transitions that takes the ma-

■ ft unning
a finite automaton is
like navigating
through a maze.

chine from its start state to its final state?
One solution involves keeping a list of all
the possible states the automaton can be
in, on the basis of the input characters
read thus far. If this state list contains the
final state after all input has been read,
then there must be some sequence of
transitions that takes the automaton from
the start state to the final state, and the
string should be accepted.

If the final state doesn’t appear in the
final state list, the string is rejected.
Table I illustrates this process for the au¬
tomaton that is shown in figure 1. Since
the order of states in the list isn't impor¬
tant, you can use a set representation for

continued

186 Fall 1989

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UNIX FILENAMES FOR TURBO PASCAL

Regular Expressions

A regular expression is a compact no¬
tation for describing sets of strings
that have a pattern to them. These pat¬
terns are formed by taking primitive
strings, such as single characters and
the empty string, and repeatedly apply¬
ing them to operations of alternation,
concatenation, and repetition.

Regular expressions are formed from
the combination of metacharacters with
standard characters. For example, the
expression (\+|-)?[0-9]+\ .?[0-9]*
matches a decimal number with an op¬
tional sign and optional fractional part,
and the expression (AB)+C matches
ABC, ABABC, ABABABC, and soon.

The Unix editors and utilities use reg¬
ular expressions extensively. In fact,
there’s a utility called grep (for global
regular-expression printer) that does
nothing more than find all strings in a
file that match a given regular expres¬
sion. Unfortunately, the way regular ex¬
pressions are used under Unix is some¬
what inconsistent.

The Unix shell—the part of the oper¬
ating system that resides between the
kernel and the user—interprets regular
expressions differently from grep, text
editors, and other text-based utilities.
For example, if you invoke the file-list¬

ing utility Is with Is [ab]#, the shell
interprets [ab]# as (a U b)(anything )*,
the set of strings that begin with a or b.
But grep interprets [ab]# as the regular
expression ( a U b)*\ that is, as strings
of length zero or greater that consist ex¬
clusively of a' s and b's. Since every line
in a file contains the zero-length mem¬
ber of this set, the grep command will
print out every line in the file. When
using regular expressions under Unix,
it’s important to keep in mind whether
you’re dealing with the shell or with a
utility.

Formally Defined

To form a regular expression, begin
with a set of characters E, called an al¬
phabet. The regular expressions over al¬
phabet E are defined as follows:

1. The empty string c is a regular
expression. Any single character a
in E is a regular expression.

2. If r is a regular expression, so are
r* and (r).

3. If r, and r 2 are regular expressions,
so are r,r 2 and r, U r 2 .

Associated with each regular expres¬
sion r is a language, denoted by L(r).

The definition of L(r) y like the defini¬
tion of regular expressions, is recursive:

1. L(e) = (e), the language consisting
of the empty string. Also, L(a) =

[a) for each a in E.

2. L(r*) = (L(r))*. The expression on
the right (the Kleene closure) is
formed by concatenating zero or
more strings in L(r). Parentheses
around a regular expression don’t
affect the language it denotes, so
U(r)) = L(r).

3. L(r,r 2 ) = L(r,)L(r 2 ), and L(r, U
r 2 ) = L(r,) U Uj 2 ). The first
relation says that L(r,r 2 ) is obtained
by constructing all strings of the
form $j$ 2 , where s, is in L(ry) and s 2
is in L(r 2 ). The second says that
L(r, U r 2 ) is the union of the
languages L(r,) and L(r 2 ).

It’s customary to give * the highest
precedence in regular expressions, con¬
catenation the next highest, and union
the lowest. The usual precedences can
be overridden by using parentheses.
Under this convention, you have L(a U
bb*c) = L(a) U L(b)UJb)*L(c) = [a y bc %
bbc y bbbcy ... j, while L((a U b)b*c) =
[aCybc y abCybbCy ...).

states instead of a list, as is done here.
Since the final state, s 3 , is in the last state
set, the string fuzzy is indeed accepted
by this automaton.

Now that I’ve described how a finite
automaton operates, I should discuss how
to construct an automaton from a meta¬
character expression. For the purpose of
this discussion, I will refer to the parts of
a metacharacter expression—the symbols
# and ?, character classes, and single
characters not in a class—as subexpres¬
sions. The algorithm to build the autom¬
aton goes as follows:

1. Begin with a start state s 0 . Let n =

0 .

2. Read the next subexpression from
the metacharacter expression. If

it’s a *, draw an arc labeled * from s n
to itself. Otherwise, create a new
state s^y , draw an arc labeled with
the subexpression from s n to s^y,
and increment n by one unit.

3. Repeat step 2 until the entire
metacharacter expression has been
read. State s m then gives the final
state of the automaton.

This algorithm only applies to finite
automata that recognize metacharacter
expressions. These expressions, and the
languages they generate, are but a small
subclass of the so-called regular expres¬
sions and regular languages (see the text
box “Regular Expressions’’ above).
Some regular languages are quite com¬
plex, and constructing finite automata
that recognize them is no simple matter.
The relationship between finite automata
and regular languages is well under¬
stood, however, and there are algorithms
to answer almost every question relating
to them. References 1,2, and 3 contain
comprehensive discussions of automata
and languages.

Implementation

The algorithms given so far for automa¬
ton construction and operation are simple
enough to master without much practice.
They’re also simple enough to easily im¬
plement in software. Moreover, there is a
direct way to represent this sort of finite
automata in Pascal. One consequence of
the algorithm given earlier is that no
state in the machine will have more than

two outgoing arcs. Also, the automaton
cannot have more than 12 states, since
DOS filenames are limited to 12 charac¬
ters. This means that you can represent
the automaton as an array of records:

var Arcs : array[0..11] of
record

setl,set2 : set of char;
NextStatel,NextState2 :

0..11

end;

The fields setl and set2 are the sets of
characters associated with the outgoing
arcs from a particular state; NextStatel
and NextState2 are the states that these
outgoing arcs lead to. For the finite au¬
tomaton shown in figure 1, you have

Arcs[1].setl := AllChars;
Arcs[l].set2 := [d..z];

Arcs[1].NextStatel := 1;

Arcs[l],NextState2 := 2;

where AllChars is the entire set of
ASCII characters. If a state has only one

continued

188 Fall 1989

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UNIX FILENAMES FOR TURBO PASCAL

outgoing arc, then set2 is empty. The
final state has no outgoing arcs, so both
setl and set2 are empty for the final
state.

Having decided what data structure to
use for the automaton, you can then write
procedures to construct and run the au¬
tomaton. The procedure Make Automaton
accepts a metacharacter expression as
input and generates as output a finite au¬
tomaton that accepts the associated lan¬
guage. Procedure Accept takes a file¬
name as input and returns a Boolean
value (true or false, indicating whether
the automaton created by MakeAuto-
maton accepts the filename).

I’ve written a Turbo Pascal 4.0 unit
called Metaname, in which I have assem¬
bled the procedures MakeAutomaton, Ac¬
cept, and some required support code.
Actually, MakeAutomaton and Accept
don’t appear in the interface portion of
this unit at all. Since the only purpose in
constructing automata is to match file¬
names with metacharacter expressions,
there’s no good reason to even mention
automata in code that uses Metaname.

The user should be able to specify a
wild-card expression and use the unit to

1L,„

direct way to represent
this sort of finite
automata in Pascal.

find matching filenames. To this end, I
have written two procedures, called
MatchFirst and MatchNext. These pro¬
cedures have the same calling sequence
as the Turbo Pascal file search proce¬
dures FindFirst and FindNext, but
they accept Unix metacharacter expres¬
sions rather than just DOS wild cards.
The interface section of the Metaname
unit is as follows:

interface
uses DOS;

Procedure MatchFirst(Path:

String;

Attr: Word; var S:

SearchRec);

Procedure MatchNext(var S:

SearchRec);

The first argument of procedure
MatchFirst specifies the path and meta¬
character expression you want to match.
A legal value for the variable Path might
be TP4\PROGRAMS\#PGM[0-9]#. The
Path string doesn’t have to be uppercase;
MatchFirst performs case conversion
automatically. The variable Attr gives
the attribute of the file you’re seeking:
read-only, archive, directory, or what¬
ever. If a match is found, information
about the matching file is returned in the
record variable S. The record type
SearchRec (which is declared in the
standard unit DOS) contains fields for
the filename, size, date of creation, and
file attributes.

If MatchFirst succeeds, you can in¬
voke the procedure MatchNext to find
the next matching file. These procedures
return error codes through the DOS unit
variable DosError. If the path argument
in MatchFirst references a nonexistent
directory, DosError is set to 2. If either
MatchFirst or MatchNext fails to find a

continued

QUERY

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190 Fall 1989

BYTE

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UNIX FILENAMES FOR TURBO PASCAL

match, DosError is set to 18. If no error
occurs, DosError is 0. To find all
matching filenames, call MatchFirst,
and if it returns without error, call
MatehNext until DosError is nonzero.

Using the Metaname Unit

To use Unix metacharacters in a Turbo
Pascal 4,0 program, you need only in¬
clude the Metaname and DOS units in the
uses clause at the beginning of the pro¬
gram. After that, you can invoke Match-
First and MatehNext in the same way
that you would call FindFirst and Find-
Next.

There are some points to keep in mind
when using the Metaname unit. To main¬
tain strict compatibility with Unix file
operations, the metacharacters * and ?
match all characters when used in a file¬
name search, including the period. If you
want MatchFirst and MatehNext to be
upwardly compatible with DOS wild¬
card matching, you should include the
statement {^DEFINE D0SC0MPAT} near
the beginning of the Metaname unit. This
will exclude the period from the set of
characters that * and ? match.

Also important to know is that the

Metaname unit doesn’t perform any syn¬
tax checking on metacharacter expres¬
sions, If you try to match filenames to
something like ] [-?, be prepared to suf¬
fer for your transgressions.

When using character classes, remem¬
ber that the first and last characters in a
range obey ASCII ordering. If you spec¬
ify a class like [16-24], you won't get
the numerals 16 to 24, but rather the digit
1, the range 6-2 (whatever that is), and
the digit 4. On most Unix systems, a
range in which the second character has a
lower ordinal number than the first is
processed by including the two charac¬
ters into the class. With this interpreta¬
tion, the class [16-24] is the same as
[1246]. This approach is used here.

If you wish, you can use the code in
Metaname to perform string matching on
objects other than filenames. If you de¬
cide to do this, you will have to change
the value of the MaxStatea variable ac¬
cordingly, and you will need to modify
the getehar function if you want to en¬
able case sensitivity.

With a modest amount of program¬
ming effort, you can write stand-alone
programs to copy, move, delete, or list

groups of files described by Unix meta¬
character conventions. Once you've be¬
come accustomed to Unix file conven¬
tions, you may not want to move back to
DOS wild cards again! ■

Editor's note: Metaname is available in a
variety of formats. Seepage 3 for details.

REFERENCES

1. Aho, Alfred, Ravi Sethi, and Jeffrey
Oilman. Compilers: Principles, Tech¬
niques, and Tools. Reading, MA: Addison-
Wesley, 1979.

2. Hopcroft, John, and Jeffrey U liman, in¬
troduction to Automata Theory , Lan¬
guages, and Computation. Reading, MA:
Addison-Wesley, 1979.

3. Lewis, Harry, and Christos Papadimi-
triou, Elements of the Theory of Computa¬
tion. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall,
1981.

Jim Kerr is a former mathematics profes¬
sor who is now studying computer science
at the University of California at Santa
Cruz . His principal interests are com¬
piler design and language theory. He can
be reached on BIX do " editors . ”

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Circle 109 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS: 110)

IBM SPECIAL ISSUE

Which LAN?

Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the popular
LAN connection options helps you get the system that fits your needs

Richard Watson

ANs are spreading like
wildfire because they of¬
fer computing power that
rivals that of minicom¬
puter and mainframe in¬
stallations at a fraction of the cost. When
choosing a LAN, however, you have to
take care that you don’t get burned.

While the business benefits of LANs
are numerous, so too are the connection
options available. You can
choose from over 20 network
operating systems that work
with hardware from more
than 60 ARCnet, 50 Ethernet,
and 20 Token Ring vendors.

The key to simplifying your
choice is to acquire a good un¬
derstanding of the basic LAN
technologies and the bench¬
marks used to measure them.

This article presents an over¬
view of the most common
LAN connection hardware
and outlines how you should
evaluate a LAN.

Roots of Connectivity

Linking computers to share
information is nothing new.

The technology for most of
today’s LANs was created in
the 1970s by minicomputer
companies. As with most new
technologies, the absence of
standards led vendors to de¬
velop proprietary answers to

problems of connectivity.

While many connection solutions
exist, only a few enjoy widespread sup¬
port in today's microcomputer LAN
market. Two of the more popular—ARC¬
net and Ethernet—are minicomputer
connection solutions that have become
standards in the LAN market. A later ar¬
rival on the scene is Token Ring, which
can be considered a third-generation pro¬

tocol and connection design. Backed by
IBM, Token Ring is expected to rival
Ethernet in the Fortune 1000 market.

Following Protocol

Selecting the proper LAN hardware has a
direct impact on the performance and
flexibility of the final LAN configura¬
tion. ARCnet, Ethernet, and Token Ring
all have advantages and disadvantages
you must consider in selecting
equipment appropriate to you.
What may be applicable for
one implementation may not
be the best choice for another.

Understanding some basic
design aspects of each proto¬
col is important for making
informed judgments. Table 1
summarizes ARCnet, Ether¬
net, and Token Ring.

ARCnet

Datapoint Corp. originally
developed ARCnet to permit
Datapoint accounting equip¬
ment to exchange data in real
time. Because Datapoint con¬
trols the hardware specifica¬
tions and protocols of ARC¬
net, the microcomputer LAN
version is virtually identical
to the minicomputer imple¬
mentation. The popularity of
ARCnet in LANs today is a
result of the simplicity of its

continued

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Fall 1989 195

WHICH LAN?

Table 1: Prices reflect the average retail cost of one board and one driver—they do not reflect the cost of other
components of the LAN.

LAN FEATURES AND SPECIFICATIONS

Protocol

Transfer rate
(megabits per
second)

Maximum Cost per
packet size connection
(bytes)

Access

Media types

Attributes

ARCnet

2.5

512

$200

Token-passing

Coaxial, unshielded
twisted-pair, fiber-optic

Inexpensive; reliable;
broad vendor support

Ethernet

1.5K

$400

CSMA/CD

Thin/thick coaxial,
unshielded twisted-pair

Fast; broad vendor
support; IEEE standard

Token Ring

4/16

$400/$700

Token-passing

Shielded/unshielded

twisted-pair

Extensive features; IBM
support; IEEE standard

ARCNET TRANSMISSION PROTOCOL

Station A Station B

Figure 1: The ‘ free buffer? M query helps ensure the reliability of ARCnet
data transfers.

maintenance and low cost per node.

ARCnet uses a token-passing protocol
implemented with a combination of dedi¬
cated communication controllers and hy¬
brid interface components. ARCnet’s
basic star, or hub, topology and straight¬
forward node configuration make it easy
to install and debug. You can assign a
network node one of 255 unique address¬
es by setting the configuration switches
on the network interface card.

The ARCnet protocol is simple. On
power-up, each node determines its

order on the node list. The token starts at
the node with the lowest station ID,
which either initiates communication or
passes the token to the next-higher nu¬
meric station. When a station with the
token wants to transmit data, it initiates
the ARCnet transmit protocol.

Before transmitting, a station must en¬
sure that the target station has a buffer
available to receive the next packet. It
transmits a 44 free buffer?” inquiry to the
destination station. If the destination has
a buffer available, it sends an acknowl¬

edgment (ACK); the sending station then
transmits the packet (see figure 1). If no
buffer is available, the destination station
returns a negative acknowledgment
(NAK). Most ARCnet adapters have 2K-
byte buffer memories, which hold four
packets. This limitation can cause net¬
work performance to suffer when a busy
node has no free buffers. In particular, a
central server will often indicate a 44 no
buffer” condition under heavy network
traffic conditions.

After transmitting or receiving a nega¬
tive acknowledgment, the sending station
passes the token. Having built-in hard¬
ware support that helps ensure reliable
packet delivery differentiates ARCnet
from other LANs.

Adding and subtracting nodes is sim¬
ple with ARCnet. Anytime the addition
or subtraction of a node changes the se¬
quence of active-node IDs, the network
halts data transfer operations and recon¬
figures the network. These processes re¬
quire only several hundred milliseconds
to complete, but the network is down for
this time. Thus, a network adapter that
fails sporadically can bring the network
to a standstill.

Ethernet

Developed by Xerox in cooperation with
Digital Equipment Corp. and Intel to in¬
terconnect DEC minicomputers, Ether¬
net has become a popular LAN for
microcomputers. It is noted for superior
performance and wide vendor support.

Ethernet’s dialogue on the network is
much simpler than that of ARCnet be¬
cause it supports larger buffers and
CSMA/CD architecture. Unlike token¬
passing architectures, CSMA/CD places
no restrictions on when data is trans¬
mitted; any station can transmit at any
time. When two or more stations trans¬
mit data simultaneously, a collision oc¬
curs that can corrupt the data from each

196 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

WHICH LAN?

station. The data-link layer detects colli¬
sions and resolves the contention by hav¬
ing each station wait for a random period
before retransmitting (see figure 2).

Severe problems can occur on a
CSMA/CD network when an adapter be¬
gins to fail and “jabbers” constantly. In
this case, the network will be flooded
with junk transmissions, causing almost
constant collisions. To resolve this type
of problem, the failing adapter must be
removed as soon as it is identified.

Token Ring

Token Ring was developed by IBM in the
early 1980s and is defined by the IEEE
802.5 standard. It was designed to sup¬
port a broad variety of host machines, in¬
cluding mainframes as well as smaller
computers such as PCs. Token Ring uses
a token-passing technique that ensures a
flat performance curve, regardless of the
volume of traffic on the network (see fig¬
ure 3). The Token Ring multiple-access-
control-level protocol is richer in its node
addressability than is ARCnet (48 bits
versus 8 bits). It also has integrated rout¬
ing and priority mechanisms that let you
optimize any configuration. Token Ring
has no data-link mechanism for assuring
that the destination node has a receive
buffer available; this is handled at higher
levels by software.

Architectural Comparisons

Token-passing adherents and fans of
CSMA/CD have a nearly religious devo¬
tion to their favorite access method. The
“token-passers” are quick to point out
that a CSMA/CD architecture can theo¬
retically be brought to its knees by the
collision arbitration scheme. On the
other side, the “collision detectors” note
that token-passing architectures are pe¬
nalized in a client-server configuration
where the predominant flow of data is
from the server to the client nodes. The
server must wait its turn while the work¬
stations process the token; hence, token
passing is deterministically slow.

In reality, both architectures suffer
under heavy loads. A heavily loaded
CSMA/CD network experiences perfor¬
mance degradation due to the increased
number of collisions. Similarly, a token¬
passing network begins to suffer in a
heavily loaded environment due to full
buffers at busy receiving stations. This
situation is an especially serious one for
ARCnet installations because most
adapters can buffer only four packets.

The only generalization that you can
make based on architecture is that, al¬
though both collision detection and token

continued

ETHERNET CSMA/CD SCHEME

Station A
transmits

Station B
transmits,
causing collision

Both stations
detect collision and
stop transmitting

After a random
time-out,
station B
transmits

After a random
time-out,
station A
transmits

Figure 2: Stations detect collisions by listening for their own packets. If a packet
is garbled, a collision is assumed.

TOKEN RING ACCESS METHOD

Station A Station B

Figure 3: Token Ring is relatively simple at the physical and data-link layers,
thus minimizing the traffic needed to establish communications.

BYTE IBM Special Edition • Fall 1989 197

WHICH LAN?

LAN Yardsticks

T he goal of a LAN benchmark is to
determine a single performance in¬
dex for a LAN implementation. With
LANs, however, it is important to
understand that many components from
different vendors contribute to the gen¬
eration of a performance metric. To
achieve optimum performance, you’ll
have to configure your system with
components from many vendors.

You can simplify the problem of mea¬
suring the performance of a multiven¬
dor LAN configuration by ranking the
components in the order of their impact
on LAN performance in relation to the
target application environment. In a
database environment, for example, the
record-locking mechanism is likely to
be the most significant factor in network
performance. Thus, you can optimize
performance by selecting fast disk
drives and by configuring servers and
workstations with as much cache mem¬
ory as possible.

Listed below, in the order of their im¬
pact, are the factors that determine the
performance of a generalized LAN
implementation.

1. Multiple access control (record
locking)

2. Hardware configuration

3. Network operating-system
inefficiency

4. Application inefficiency

5. Driver/network interface card
inefficiency

6. DOS inefficiency

7. Protocol overhead

Applications Impact

To a great extent, the observed perfor¬
mance in any configuration depends on
the type of application. For applications
such as word processing, you will ob¬
serve virtually no performance differ¬
ence at an individual node regardless of
the size of the network. For a database
application, the observed performance
will be greatly affected by the number
of nodes in the network because of the
logical record contention that’s inherent
in any complex multiuser file-access
system.

In addition to the impact of the appli¬
cation, the exact hardware configura¬
tion can greatly impact the observed
performance. The raw throughput of
the LAN medium is important, but the

CPU speeds of individual nodes, the
speeds of file server disks, the amount
of cache memory, and other important
factors all have an impact on the ob¬
served throughput in some way.

Benchmark Fallacies

Reported test values are often based on
single-workstation (i.e., one file server,
one workstation) configurations. While
these values are reported correctly, you
should not extrapolate the same perfor¬
mance levels across a multistation con¬
figuration. More representative perfor¬
mance figures can be derived from 6- to
10-work station configurations, which
is closer to the reported average number
of nodes per network.

Too often, reported test results favor
the evaluation of a single component of
the LAN (e.g., a network card or file
server) and do not reflect observable
performance in a user application envi¬
ronment. The results from a READ/
OVERLAY operation are typical of
these types of tests. In this case, a single
user file is cached at the server (and par¬
tially cached at the workstation), and
the same data block is repeatedly read
in a timed test. While this test may give
some indication of the efficiency of the
network interface card and driver, it
doesn’t reflect the I/O pattern of any
known application.

In addition, many tests use 4096 bytes
as a standard I/O size. This model does
not fit most PC applications and gives
results that are difficult to correlate to
user applications. Tests modeled closer
to a user application give more realistic
results.

The best performance tool for any
LAN evaluation is utilization of the tar¬
get application itself. Only with this ap¬
plication can you accurately model the
performance of the LAN. While any
performance values generated by using
this tool will be accurate, multistation
tests are difficult to simulate because of
the lack of a mechanism to automate and
synchronize the stations.

Understanding all the factors in¬
volved in performance numbers is im¬
portant in making a valid decision on
your best network configuration. When
choosing a LAN, be sure to consider
how closely any reported tests reflect
your application environment. Don’t
follow the numbers blindly.

passing work fine in a typical office envi¬
ronment, token passing is superior for
process control applications that require
real-time control over data delivery.

Hard Numbers

Quantifying the performance of a net¬
work is difficult because there is no ac¬
cepted standard for determining LAN
performance metrics. In lieu of a stan¬
dard, I used common utilities to deter¬
mine simple performance metrics for
ARCnet, Ethernet, and Token Ring. The
tests used simple DOS utilities on identi¬
cal equipment to obtain a baseline per¬
formance metric for each technology.
This provided a mean performance de¬
termination that normalized the effects
of disk speed, workstation CPU speed,
and server caching features. In all cases,
I installed Tiara network adapters on a
LAN using Novell’s NetWare 2.12.

The first test copied the entire server
disk across the network to the source sta¬
tion and determined the average K-bytes-
per-second throughput. The second test
used Novell’s PERFORM2. Table 2 lists
the results of the tests.

Observed performance in a LAN re¬
sults from the complex interaction of
many subcomponents within the LAN
configuration. In evaluating complete
systems, you should use tests that assess
the impact of subcomponents such as net¬
work interface cards, workstation mem¬
ory configurations, and CPU speed. See
the text box “LAN Yardsticks” at left for
more on evaluation.

Standards Issues

Standards have become more important
as the LAN industry has matured. Fortu¬
nately, ARCnet, Ethernet, and Token
Ring are all defined by a controlling
body or standard that states exactly how
the technology should be implemented.

Ethernet and Token Ring are defined
by IEEE 802 (LAN technologies) com¬
mittees. Specifically, the Ethernet pro¬
tocol falls under the auspices of the 802.3
(CSMA/CD) committee, and Token
Ring is controlled by the 802.5 commit¬
tee. These committees have generated
design specifications for their respective
technologies; any product claiming to
support one of these connection types
must adhere to these specifications.

ARCnet is different: Datapoint acts as
the controlling body for any implementa¬
tion of ARCnet. Datapoint has final ap¬
proval over all hardware implementa¬
tions of the ARCnet technology to the
point of being responsible for the micro¬
code of all new ARCnet communication

continued

198 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

CLEO is your SNA, BSC and Coax Gateway

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Sharing Information

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CLEO

CLEO and 3780Plits are registered trademarks of CLEO Software. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation,

WHICH LAN?

Table 2: The network consisted of a Compaq Deskpro 386/20 server, three 12-
MHz 80286 workstations, two 10-MHz 80286 workstations, and one 8-MHz
80286 workstation. As expected, ARCnet trailed Ethernet and Token Ring in
performance. Ethernet's superior showing probably reflects the configuration
of the LAN rather than any inherent superiority over Token Ring .

LAN TESTING RESULTS

Connection type

Server-tO'Station

PERFORMS

ARCnet

Ethernet

Token Ring
(4 megabits/second)

Note: 16 megabtts/secardnal available.

200 K bytes/second

450K bytes/second

230K bytes/second

137K bytes/second

971K bytes/second

192K bytes/second

controllers. Thus, ARCnet has remained
“pure” even though it is not controlled
by any governing standards body.

Best Choice?

There is no “best” LAN configuration
per se. You have to weigh the importance
of cost, performance, and functionality
in configuring your installation. Each
connection type has its good and bad
points.

If cost is a driving concern for your
LAN configuration, ARCnet is a good
choice. No other LAN connection inter¬
face offers a “standard” product for such
a low cost per node. ARCnet is simple to
install and features very acceptable per¬
formance, especially in a typical office
environment that on average contains
fewer than 20 nodes.

If performance is a major concern,
you should consider Ethernet. Because of

its CSMA/CD architecture, some people
question Ethernet's ability to deliver
high performance under a heavy work
load. In all practicality, however, Ether¬
net performs very well in most situa¬
tions. Ethernet costs more than an ARC¬
net installation, but the speed and con¬
nectivity features offset the higher price.

Token Ring provides good perfor¬
mance connections plus features such as
simple connectivity to mainframe sys¬
tems, simplified bridging for large net¬
works, and more sophisticated protocol-
tuning mechanisms. For full-featured
networks. Token Ring is the technology
of choice.

ARCnet, Ethernet, and Token Ring
thrive in today's marketplace because
each satisfies the requirements of certain
customers. As long as you know your re¬
quirements, you will be able to select the
connection option that's best for you, ■

Richard Watson is vice president of engi¬
neering/development for Tiara Computer
Systems of Mountain View, California,
which produces hardware and software
products for LANs. He can be reached on
BIXc/o " editors . ”

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BYTE

Circle 286 on Reader Service Card

Introducing DADiSP 2.0

DADiSP. The Big Picture in

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DADiSP — interactive graphics and data analysis soft¬
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language output From Ventura Publisher®,
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Copyright 1987. 1988 Phoenix Technologies Ltd All other company and product names are trademarks of the company or mawfacturer respectively
Copyright 1989 Pacific Data Products. Inc.

PhoentxPage

Circle 196 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS: 197)

IBM SPECIAL ISSUE

The Language
of Lasers

PostScript and PCL establish a range of page-description languages
while newcomer CaPSL fills in the middle

Kent Quirk

hen Hewlett-Packard in¬
troduced its printer-con¬
trol language (PCL) level
1 with its first LaserJet
printer, the company es¬
tablished the first standard for page-
description languages (PDLs). But even
after three revisions, PCL level 4 is an
aging standard, challenged by two nota¬
ble alternatives: Canon’s newcomer
CaPSL and Adobe’s sophisti¬
cated PostScript.

The good news for laser-
printer users is that each tech¬
nology performs its job dif¬
ferently as a high-level printer
language. Clear choices exist
in a market where perfor¬
mance strides are a tradition
(see the text box “Rigid Grids
Spawned Today’s PDLs” on
page 206).

HP’s PCL level 4

PCL level 4 can place black
text at any location on a page,
and page elements can be
drawn in any order. Layouts
begin at the upper left corner
of the page, but application
software isn’t forced to create
a page from top to bottom.

For example, a program
could draw a black border to
define a copy block before the
text is actually printed (see
table la).

by typing ESC followed by a punctuation
mark and a letter* Numeric parameters
and a terminating letter may follow. PCL
considers any other character printable
text.

PCL prints raster images using pixel
replication to change resolutions. It sup¬
ports macros and overlays to create fre¬
quently used logos and forms.

Complicated images must be handled
by the CPU, which will gen¬
erate a bit map and then print
the figure. However, using
the CPU for rasterization
means larger code sizes,
longer image transmission
times, and a waste of CPU re¬
sources. For example, to print
text at an odd angle, you must
choose a host-resident font,
draw the font into a bit map,
and transmit the entire bit
map as an image.

Canon’s CaPSL

CaPSL, released Last June,
draws any shade of gray,
places fonts in any orienta¬
tion, and offers a selection of
plotting commands for vector
drawing. The language is de¬
signed to quickly transmit
and execute page descrip¬
tions.

CaPSL implements a set of
the ANSI/ISO screen control
continued

But PCL offers only bit-mapped fonts
that cannot be scaled or rotated (although
landscape fonts are available). PCL can’t
execute drawing commands more com¬
plicated than horizontal and vertical
lines, which it implements as filled rect¬
angles. It supports a few levels of gray
(but not continuous shading) and several
pattern fills for rectangular areas.

You begin nearly all PCL commands

ILLUSTRATION; LYN BOYER PENNINGTON © J9S9

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Fall 1989 203

THE LANGUAGE OF LASERS

Table 1: The following code samples (a) from HP’s PCL level 4, (b) Canon *s
CaPSL , and (c) Adobe’s PostScript each produce text in two different fonts
and create a gray box bordered by 0.1-inch rules.

DECODING THREE PDLS

(a) PCL level 4

Command

Action

(ESCjE

Reset.

(ESC)(s0T

Select line printer.

(ESC](s16.66H

Select 16.66 pitch.

(ESC)&a720v720H

This was generated
in HP’s PCL using
the line-printer
font at 16.66 cpi.

Move to 1 inch (720 decipoints) from top and left.

[ESC)(s3T

Select Courier.

(ESC](s10H

Select 10 pitch.

(ESC)(s3B

Select bold.

(ESC)&a1440v720H

This text is written
in Courier Bold at 10 cpi.

Move to 2 inches from top, 1 inch from left.

(ESC)'pi 200x1200Y

Move to 4 inches from top and left.

(ESC)*c45G

Set 45 percent gray scale (HP doesn’t have
a 50 percent gray).

(ESC)' c300a300B

Box of 1 inch by 1 inch.

(ESC)‘c2P

Print the gray box.

(ESC)' pi 185x1185Y

Move to corner less width of line.

(ESC)‘c330a30B

Box 1 inch by 0.1 inch.

(ESC)'cOP

Print a black solid rule.

(ESC)’c30a300B

Box 0.1 inch by 1 inch.

(ESC)'cOP

Print a black solid rule.

(ESC) * pi 185x1485Y

Move to corner less width of line.

(ESC)'c330a30B

Box 1 inch by 0.1 inch.

(ESC)'cOP

Print a black solid rule.

(ESC)* pi 485x1185Y

Move to corner less width of line.

(ESC)'c30a330B

Box 1 inch by 0.1 inch.

(ESC)* COP

Print a black solid rule
and print the page.

(b) CaPSL

Command

Action

(ESC) <

Soft reset.

(ESC)[2&z

Paint memory mode full.

(ESC)[?32h

Enable scaling character sets.

(ESC)[?33h

Enable character set rotation.

(ESC)[0p

Select page format.

[ESC)[2 1

Units are 1/720 of an inch (decipoints).

(ESC)[11h

Set positional units to size.

(ESC)PzSwiss.lSO_USA[ESC) \

Select character set.

(ESC)[100C

Set 10 point.

(ESC][720;720f

This was generated
in Canon’s CaPSL using
the Swiss font at 10 point.

Position to 1,1.

continued

commands like those used by the AN¬
SI. SYS device driver and many computer
terminals.

The command format is simple: Most
sequences begin with the command se¬
quence initiator (CSI), which consists of
the Escape character followed by a left
square bracket. (CaPSL also provides a
single-character replacement for the
CSI.) Following the CSI are parameter
numbers separated by semicolons. The
last parameter is followed by an interme¬
diate character and a terminator, which
together define the function to be exe¬
cuted. CaPSL considers anything not
part of a command sequence to be print¬
able text (see table lb).

For example, CSI 10;20f instructs the
printer to begin drawing at row 10, col¬
umn 20 (f is the terminator). These com¬
mand sequences are fast to transmit and
interpret. They are also extensible while
remaining within the standard. Unfortu¬
nately, they are difficult to read and pro¬
gram (but this shouldn’t hinder most
users).

Page layouts originate at the upper left
corner. The y-axis is inverted from the
normal Cartesian plane. Coordinate
measurement is flexible. Positions can
be specified in several coordinate sys¬
tems. There are horizontal and vertical
motion indexes, the size of which can be
set according to each font. Position set¬
tings can be units measured in deci-
points, mils, hundredths of millimeters,
or device dots (1/300 of an inch).

CaPSL’s high-level drawing com¬
mands include instructions for lines,
polylines, rectangles, arcs, circles, ellip¬
ses, quarter-ellipses, and graphics mark¬
ers for line graphs. CaPSL can’t combine
lines and arcs into a single fillable ob¬
ject, nor can it produce nonelliptical
curves, such as Bezier curves. Although
restricted to rectangles, clipping can
make them precise to the nearest pixel,
character, or string.

The language can handle both bit¬
mapped and scalable fonts, including
outline-font “hints” that tell the printer
how to draw a font in a different size.
CaPSL uses hinted fonts internally. Its
bit-mapped images can be downloaded as
either binary or hexadecimal data. It can
scale these images up through pixel repli¬
cation by a factor of 1, 2, 3, or 4. Scal¬
able-font characters can be scaled, rotat¬
ed, skewed, outlined, shadowed, or
filled with a pattern.

Macros include some programming-
language features. Macros can execute
other macros, or you can set a macro to
run a specified number of times without
conditionals or variables. This is helpful

in creating forms and logos. (Canon
printers come with many preloaded
macros that set up the printer to various
modes or generate commonly used
forms.)

Adobe’s PostScript
PostScript can do things no other printer
language can do. It offers an elegant and
highly extensible approach to page gen¬

eration, especially when an algorithmic
specification is the only compact way to
describe an image. But what PostScript
offers in sophistication, it sacrifices in
speed—PostScript generally is the slow¬
est of the PDLs.

PostScript constitutes a complete pro¬
gramming language with features spe¬
cific to generating printed images. Most
printers accept printable text and embed

204 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

THE LANGUAGE OF LASERS

[ESCjPzD(Jtch-!talic.lSO_USAIESCj \

[ESC)[240C

[ESC!(1440:720f

This is written
in 24-point Dutch Italic.
[ESC][2880;2880f
(ESC)[0&)

#[IS2J

!0!1(IS2]

$(IS2j

E101[IS2j

F1D8[iS2)
l{1 [IS2]

j;BtOCaOBtOCaO(IS2J

%flS2]

Jp{IS2]

Select alternate character set.

Set 24 point.

Position to 2,2.

Position to 4,4.

Change to virtual device metafile mode
with current origin.

Begin picture.

Set scaling mode (1/72 of an inch like before).

Begin picture body.

Set line type to solid.

Set line width to 72/72Oths of an inch.

Set interior style (draw border, fill with gray),

Draw rectangle.

End picture.

End VDM mode.

Command

Action

/inch (72 mul ] def

Define an inch for easy positioning.

1 inch 10 inch moveto

Position to 1 inch from top (10 inches from bottom).

/Helvetica findfont

Get the font.

10 scaiefont

Scale it to 10 point

set fo nt

and tell PostScript to use it.

(This was generated with

PostScript in the Helvetica

font at 10 point.)

1 inch 9 inch moveto

Draw the next text.

/Times-Italic findfont

Change to Times Roman Italic

24 scaiefont setfont

24 point.

(This is written in

24-point Times

Roman italic.)

4 inch 7 inch moveto

Draw the box.

1 inch 0 rlineto

0-1 inch rlineto

- 1 inch 0 rlineto

close path

We've defined the box as a closed path.

gsave

Remember the path.

.5 setgray

Use 50 percent gray

fill

and fill it.

g restore

Get the path back.

0.1 inch setiine width

Use tat lines

stroke

and draw the outline.

showpage

Print the page.

the specially coded commands in the
data stream. But PostScript reads its data
stream as a set of commands, so you must
enclose text in parentheses for it to print.
A PostScript page description is really a
program, and the text it generates is just a
set of strings within that program (see
table 1c).

As a programming language, Post¬
Script is designed to be read and exe¬

cuted in one pass, without backing up, A
PostScript program usually is machine
generated, although it is based on a set of
English keywords.

The result is a language similar to but
more readable than Forth, PostScript of¬
fers a stack-oriented architecture, with
separate dictionaries to hold data and
code for random access.

continued

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Wg'dPtKlCl il ■ Uldliiurk al WPC. Nt+Fuit i, * tmdemjrt o( Mitrofmi

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Fall 1989 205

THE LANGUAGE OF LASERS

Rigid Grids Spawned Today’s PDLs

I n the past 10years, printer manufac¬
turers have steadily developed more-
sophisticated ways to put marks on
paper. As printer technology evolved *
many people changed their ideas about
what actually is a printer.

In the mid-1970s, people saw
printers merely as a means for putting
text on paper. The output page was an
imaginary grid, and a printer placed
vertical letters into boxes within the
grid. Letters were a fixed size and
shape, and they generally came from
fully formed characters. You could
print pages quickly or print them to look
good, but trying to do both required ex-
pensive equipment. In any case, bold¬
facing was about the only choice for em¬
phasizing text, and you accomplished
this by changing the daisy wheel or
overprinting. Languages used to control
printers were simplistic. A few control
characters moved the printer carriage
left, right, up, and down.

The Diablo 630 daisy-wheel printer
defined a control-language standard.
Even today, most word processors and
many printers support this minimal
control language. The most expensive
printers used proportional type for a
“typeset" look, but few word proces¬
sors took advantage of it.

The dot-matrix printer evolved as an
inexpensive way to produce characters
quickly. Initially, dot-matrix printers
were considered to have poor quality.
As recently as the mid- 1980s, business

correspondence relied on daisy-wheel
printers, despite the heavier weight,
louder noise, and slower speed.

But dot-matrix printers offered more
flexibility. They provided a choice of
two or three different (if ugly) fonts and
two or three sizes of text. You could add
emphasis to words without babysitting
the printer. Text was still defined as let¬
ters in boxes, but now you could vary
box sizes and create proportionally
spaced text.

As ROM and microprocessor prices
dropped, dot-matrix printers grew more
intelligent. Old, one-character control
sequences became two and three char¬
acters long, but they were generally in¬
vented from whole cloth by the manu¬
facturers. A minimal standard of Epson
compatibility arrived to keep the peace,
but most manufacturers added to it in
little (or not so little) ways.

The dot-matrix printer defined a
smaller grid on the page, and you could
fill any grid location with a dot or leave
it blank. This meant that PCs could
draw graphs or characters of arbitrary
shapes and sizes. Unfortunately, pages
had to be generated from top to bottom,
which strained memory and computing
power. Also, the process was slow, tak¬
ing minutes per page. Resolution was
poor, typically 72 dots per inch. Worst
of all, some companies that claimed
Epson compatibility apparently never
tested their primers with an appropriate
program.

Fonts lacked standardization. It was
obvious that most programmers and
printer manufacturers created their own
fonts. Vendors found thousands of ways
to make the letter^, and most of the let¬
ters looked bad. Even when individual
letters were not hideous, they often
looked unrelated to other characters
within the same font.

Later, laser primers and 24-pin dot¬
matrix printers became affordable.
They offered vastly improved resolu¬
tion, greater intelligence for better
graphics, and enough resolution to print
recognizable fonts. Initially, manufac¬
turers packaged standard fixed-width
typewriter faces, such as Courier and
Prestige, in proportional and nonpro¬
portional forms. Some vendors sold
downloadable fonts or font cartridges,
which provided a variety of fonts at full
printer speed. Programs using the
graphics mode to generate interesting
pages became available.

Note, however, that printers still di¬
vided printing “text" (now defined as
horizontally oriented letters in a prede¬
fined font collection) from printing
“graphics" (which are simply patterns
of bits). The printing program was still
bound by the printer's mechanical char¬
acteristics, such as resolution, available
fonts , and size of font characters.

Today, with the advent of page-
description languages (PDLs), a print¬
er's task is evolving further into the job
of placing marks on a gridless page.

PostScript’s biggest (and for some, de¬
bilitating) problem is that it is slow. Opti¬
mization techniques and interpreter aids
help, but in general, an image produced
by PostScript lakes longer than creating
the same image in another language.
Also, most PostScript printers use a
serial interface, so even simple images
can reach a bottleneck when you try to
send them to the printer.

Imaging Mode]

The PostScript imaging model is impor¬
tant. PostScript draws with various
colors of paint on paper, and the paint is
opaque. For monochrome printers, the
paint varies from white through shades of
gray to black. For color printers, you
choose the color as relative levels of red,
green, and blue, or as hue, saturation,
and brightness, depending on your needs.

Drawing commands include arcs,
lines, and Bezier curves. Drawings con¬
sist of a path, which is a set of connected
or disconnected lines and curves. A path
can be stroked (i.e., traced with paint).
Closed paths can be filled (using either
of two fills), used as a clipping bound¬
ary, smoothed, converted to line seg¬
ments, or processed in various ways.

PostScript isn’t dependent on the out¬
put device's resolution until it draws into
the bit map with the show, stroke, or fill
operators. Elements are then converted
into pixels at the device's resolution.

PostScript's measurement system is
device independent. The default unit is
the printer's point (1/72 of an inch), and
the coordinate system is arranged in Car¬
tesian form, with the origin at the lower
left corner of the page. With a few excep¬
tions, points are first processed through

a translation matrix that lets the pro¬
grammer use any coordinate system with
two axes on a plane. You can directly ma¬
nipulate this matrix or use scale, transla¬
tion, and rotation operators.

PostScript typically stores fonts as out¬
lines and then converts them to bit maps
during printing. A printer font cache
stores bit maps as they are generated,
greatly improving text-processing speed
with reused characters. PostScript fonts
also function as paths, so you can treat
letter forms as outlines for special pur¬
poses.

Font outlines must change with the de¬
vice resolution and point size. Adobe
fonts resident in PostScript include hints
that tell the printer how to render out¬
lines for different type sizes. Adobe
won't reveal how to do this, although it

continued

206 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Z ntroducing the first color
PostScript printer priced to
keep you in the black.

The QMS
ColorScript 100
Model 10.
Just $ 9,995.

Show-stopping presentations, powerful
projections and crystal clear calculations in
hard copy or transparency form. Everything
your business needs to stand out from the
crowd. All in a full spectrum of color for
just *9,995. The QMS ColorScript"’ 100
Model 10 easily connects to your Mac® or
PC to add full color and the power of true
Adobe® PostScript to your business — and,
at this price, it helps you stay in the black!
It’s another first from QMS® and a
breakthrough in color PostScript® printers.

Limitless Possibilities. The new QMS
ColorScript 100 Model 10 allows you to have
total control over the final appearance of
your hard copies and transparencies. The
Model 10 includes 35 resident typefaces
that, thanks to PostScript, can be scaled to
virtually any size and shape. Put that
together with its ability to print over 16
million color variations and youli see an
entirely new dimension to composition.

Exclusive Advantages. The compact
Model 10 gives you advantages you won’t
find with the competition. For example, PC
users can put the Model 10 to work without
adding any additional boards. And Mac
users simply plug the Model 10 into the
Appidlhlk® port The Model 10 prints at 300
dpi for near typeset quality presentations
that spring to life in colors that adhere to
PANTONE®* Color Standards. If you need
to expand your printing capabilities or
memory, the Model 10 is designed to easily
accept a 1 MB or 4 MB RAM upgrade. The
Model 10 also features an SCSI interface that
makes adding enough memory to store the
entire PostScript typeface library as simple
as plugging in a lamp.

1-800-523-2696. If improving your business
edge is important to you, call our toll free
number far the nearest Laser Connection®
dealer. Your Laser Connection dealer can
give you a demonstration and show you
how the QMS ColorScript 100 Model 10
will add a colorful dimension to your
presentations — and help keep you in
the black.

connGCTion'

A QMS' Company

The following are trademarks of their respective companies; QMS, QMS
CobrScripL Laser Connection of QMS, Inc. PostScript, Adobe of Adobe
Systems. Inc, Mac, Applflklk of Apple, Tnc, PANTONE of Pantone, Inc

1 - 800 - 523-2696

* F&ntone, Inc.'s cheek-standard trademark for color reproduction and

Circle 223 an Reader Service Card (DEALERS; 224)

THE LANGUAGE OF LASERS

ITEMS DISCUSSED

PCL level 4
Hewlett-Packard Co.

19310 Fruneridge Ave.
Cupertino, CA 95014
(800) 752-0900
Inquiry 911.

CaPSL

Canon U,$,A., Inc,

One Canon Plaza
Lake Success, NY 11042
(516) 488-6700
Inquiry 912.

PostScript

Adobe Systems, Inc.

1585 Charleston Rd.

P.O. Box 7900
Mountain View, CA 94039
(415) 961-4400
Inquiry 913.

publishes the raw font metrics (the height
and width of the individual characters).
This means that resident fonts in the
smallest and largest type sizes look bet¬

ter than a downloaded version of the
same font.

Bit-mapped images plague PostScript,
even though it can scale them into
arbitrary sizes. Because its input data
stream cannot handle binary data, this
data is often sent in hexadecimal form,
doubling the image size and the trans¬
mission time.

Given PostScript's abilities, why
doesn't everyone just go out and buy it?
Its lack of speed can be impractical, es¬
pecially for systems that generate hun¬
dreds of pages a day, such as print
servers on large LANs. Unlike Post¬
Script, CaPSL features speed optimiza¬
tions like marker drawing commands
and image compression. A normal Post¬
Script page description as generated by
current word processing programs is sig¬
nificantly longer than the same page as
described by CaPSL or PCL. PostScript
can’t cope with something as simple as a
PrintScreen key press, because it can't
handle straight text. Finally, PostScript
is expensive. Until the recent PostScript
clones hit the market, PostScript added
$ 1000 to $2000 to a printer's cost.

Products such as Custom Applica¬

tions' Freedom of the Press and Laser-
Go's GoScript now implement Post¬
Script in software on the host computer
and then send a bit map to a printer in
raster-image mode. This approach is
also slow, but it may be an alternative at
sites where PostScript is used only occa¬
sionally.

A vast array of software products sup¬
ports PCL, so if s a safe purchase for
those wanting laser-printer resolution.
With newcomer CaPSL, Canon is betting
that a market segment needs more func¬
tionality than PCL but not as much as
PostScript's. Even if CaPSL becomes a
contender, powerful PostScript will
likely remain the technology of choice
for typesetting and image processing.
However, as laser-printer processing im¬
proves, the speed and price gaps between
PostScript and its competitors will prob¬
ably continue to shrink. ■

Kent Quirk is a freelance writer and
president of Totel Systems , Inc ., in
West ford, Massachusetts, a company that
develops device drivers and embedded
software , He can be reached on BIX as
“kquirk . ,l

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208 Fall 1989 - BYTE IBM Special Edition

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IBM SPECIAL ISSUE

A Standards
Dictionary

Which IBM PC standards have stood the test of time and are working
well for vendors and users? Here are a few that fill the bill.

L. Brett Glass

he IBM PC architecture
has spawned literally
hundreds of standards,
conventions, and com¬
mon practices through-
out the industry. At this point, seven
years after the introduction of the PC T
it's worthwhile to take a good look at this
collection of standards and see how far
we’ve come and, by extrapolation, where
we’re going.

The following list is limited
to PC- or IBM-specific stan¬
dards (SCSI, for example,
does not qualify because it
can be used with virtually any
machine). And while this list
has numerous entries, it is by
no means complete. (Terms
in italics are discussed under
their own headings.)

•ARC File Format
This is the file format used by
the ARC file-compression
program, published by Sys¬
tem Enhancement Associates
(SEA) of Wayne, New Jersey.

Programs from several other
vendors read and write files in
this format—most notably,

PKARC and PKPAK utilities
from PKWare, which added
to the standard by providing
additional compression op¬
tions. (Although still avail¬
able on many BBSes, PKARC

and PKPAK have been discontinued due
to litigation by SEA.) Neither the origi¬
nal ARC program nor the file format is
PC-specific, but the program gained
most of its popularity and installed base
in the PC marketplace.

•DBF File Format

This is the file format used by Ashton¬
Tate’s dBASE programs. Products from

many vendors other than Ashton-Tate
read and write this format.

-PCX File Format

This is the file format for images pro¬
duced by ZSoft’s PC Paintbrush (ZSoft
is in Marietta, GA). It’s a common
graphics file format on the PC and is also
used by most scanners, fax programs,
and desktop publishing programs.

•ZIP File Format

The file format for PKWare’s
PKZIP utility, this is a com¬
pression and archiving pro¬
gram similar to SEA’s ARC.

8514/A Graphics Adapter

This is IBM’s current top-of-
the-line graphics adapter. It
can display 1024 by 768
pixels in as many as 256 si¬
multaneous colors. A number
of third-party intelligent
graphics adapters emulate the
8514/A as well as providing
their own sets of graphics
commands.

Advanced Basic Input/
Output System (ABIOS)

The ABIOS is a set of low-
level routines that is similar to
the PC’s real-mode BIOS, but
the ABIOS is designed to
work in protected mode. It
continued

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Fremont, CA 94538
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FAX 415-770-8674

A STANDARDS DICTIONARY

Figure 1: To remember the difference between EMS memory and extended memory,
you can think of the bank-switching process as 11 expanding ” the memory map
laterally rather than vertically.

comes standard on every PS/2 machine,
but it is not present on IBM's older ma¬
chines or on most clones. (See “The IBM
PC BIOS/’ April BYTE, for a compre¬
hensive description of the ABIOS and
how it works.)

Advanced Program-to-Program
Communication (APPC)

The APPC is the part of IBM’s System
Network Architecture (SNA) that allows
processes on the same or different ma¬
chines to communicate with one another.
APPC is designed to be implemented on
a wide variety of hardware. It is some¬
times called LU 6.2; in fact, the two are
intimately connected but are not the
same thing. APPC refers to the higher
layers of the protocol and its application
program interface (API), while LU 6.2
refers to the software that implements
APPC on a given machine. (For more on
this protocol, see “A Logical Choice,”
January BYTE.)

Basic Input/Output System (BIOS)

The BIOS is the heart of the PC and is
among the most important factors in PC
compatibility. (For a comprehensive dis¬
cussion, see “The IBM PC BIOS,” April
BYTE.)

Color Graphics Adapter (CGA)

The CGA was one of the first two display
boards offered for the IBM PC (the other
was the monochrome display/printer
adapter (MDA). The CGA has a maxi¬
mum graphics resolution of 640 by 200
pixels (two colors only) and can display,
at most, 80 columns by 25 lines of text.
All later IBM offerings are capable of
emulating the CGA on a color screen.

Communicating Applications
Specification (CAS)

CAS is an API that allows programs to
communicate with Intel's Connection
Coprocessor fax modem card. (See
“Making Applications Talk,” January

210 Fall 1989 - BYTE IBM Special Edition

Circle 259 on Reader Service Card

A STANDARDS DICTIONARY

BYTE, for further information on this
standard.)

Enhanced Industry Standard
Architecture (EISA)

EISA is a bus that theoretically will be
upwardly compatible from the industry
standard architecture (ISA) and offer en¬
hanced performance, EISA's develop¬
ment currently is being finalized by a
consortium of compatible vendors. Some
200 vendors have paid for the details of
the specification. EISA was designed to
compete with IBM's Micro Channel ar¬
chitecture (MCA). Intel recently finished
development of an EISA chip set.

Enhanced Expanded Memory
Specification (EEMS)

EEMS was proposed by AST Research as
an extension to the original Lotus/Intel/
Microsoft EMS. EEMS allows more than
one 64K-byte area of RAM to be paged
in and out at a time and lets applications
run from the bank-switched RAM. Both
these features were incorporated into
version 4.0 of EMS,

Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA)

The EGA, IBM’s enhanced follow-on to
the MDA and CGA , incorporates all the
text and graphics modes of both—plus a
few more. It can produce a high-resolu¬
tion monochrome display similar to that
of the Hercules graphics card (HGC).
Unlike the HGC, though, the EGA can
display graphical pixels in two intensities
and has different numbers of pixels in
each row and column.

In its color modes, the EGA can pro¬
duce an output signal equivalent to that
of the CGA or a denser, higher-quality
color image with a greater scan rate,
(The standard EGA monitor switches be¬
tween these two rates.) The EGA has a
software-selectable color palette and
limited pixel-manipulation hardware on¬
board, Despite the introduction of the
more powerful professional graphics
adapter (PGA), the EGA remained the
dominant color graphics standard for the
PC until the multicolor graphics array
(MCGA) and video graphics array (VGA)
were introduced.

Expanded Memory Specification
(EMS)

The Expanded Memory Specification
allows access to more than I megabyte of
memory on a standard IBM PC by bank¬
switching I6K-byte blocks of RAM in
and out of one or more 64K-byte areas
called page frames (see figure 1). Ver¬
sions of EMS before 4.0 allowed only
one page frame with four 16K-byte pages

to be visible at any one time; 4,0 ex¬
tended the standard to allow any portion
of RAM to be switched in this manner.
This and other features of EMS 4.0 were
adapted from AST Research’s EEMS.

Extended Memory Specification
(XMS)

The XMS manages extended memory on
AT-class and 80386-based PCs. Before
XMS, there were only ad hoc standards
for reserving parts of this space; even
IBM's VDISK and disk caching pro¬
grams used different techniques.

XMS defines an API that allows you to
reserve blocks of extended memory (ex¬
tended memory blocks, or EMBs) and
transfer data between them and the low¬
est 1 megabyte of RAM (i.e,, the area
available to real-mode programs). Fig¬
ure 2 shows how XMS can also give real¬
mode programs access to almost 64K
bytes of additional memory in an area
that is known as the high memory area
(HMA).

The area from hexadecimal addresses
FFFF:0OIO to FFFF:FFFF can be ad¬
dressed from real mode if the A20 line of
the CPU is enabled; an XMS driver can
reserve that area of memory for a pro¬
gram and take charge of enabling and
disabling A20,

Finally, XMS manages blocks of
memory between 640K bytes and 1
megabyte in the processor's “normal’ 1
address space. Add-on cards sometimes
provide chunks of RAM that fall into
this area; XMS allocates the space as
upper memory blocks.

Graphical Environment Manager
(GEM)

A graphical windowing environment
created by Digital Research (Monterey,
CA), GEM runs not only on PCs but also
on Atari STs. Many applications, includ¬
ing Xerox’s Ventura Publisher, run in the
GEM environment.

Graftrax

Graftrax is actually Epson’s standard for
performing graphics on a dot-matrix
printer. But IBM’s decision to use Epson
as the OEM for the IBM Graphics Printer
meant that Graftrax became a de facto
standard for IBM PC graphics output.
Most laser printers for the PC can emu¬
late an Epson printer running Graftrax.

GWBASIC

Because of the large number of features
this language contains, the “GW” in the
name of Microsoft’s GWBASIC reput¬
edly stands for “Gee Whiz.” Derived

continued

Commenting Disassembler!

SOURCER m 486

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subfunctions, I/O ports and much more. In¬
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own remarks and descriptive labels, force
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8088 through 80486,8087 to 80387, and V20/
V30 instruction sets.

We welcome comparisons with any other prod¬
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Outstanding reviews in many magazines
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The BIOS Pre-Processor™ with SOURCER
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Provides highly descriptive labels such as
’Video-mode" and much more. Fully automatic.

ASMtool,

m CLARIFY COMPLEX CODE
■ AUTOMATIC FLOW CHARTING

ASMtool is an assembly language flow chart¬
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simplifies the understanding of complex soft¬
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logic paths. Static analysis of stack and regis¬
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3031 Tisch Way. Suite 802, Dept BY
San Jose, CA 95128 (408)296-4224

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Fall 1989 211

circle it** on rieaaer service c,ara

A STANDARDS DICTIONARY

EXTENDED MEMORY SPECIFICATION (XMS)

Extended

memory

Extended memory above high memory area (HMA) is
allocated as extended memory blocks and cannot be
accessed directly from real mode.

HMA

The HMA is the first 65.520 bytes above 1 megabyte.

You can access this area in real mode by doing
tricks on an AT or compatible.

ROM BIOS

1 -megabyte real-mode address limit.

i Any unused space in this area can be filled with
r RAM and allocated as upper memory blocks. XMS
will not interfere with EMS.

BIOS extension
ROM

Video RAM

640K-byte ’’barrier"

c RAM available for use by "standard"

^ DOS applications

DOS

BIOS data

Figure 2: Extended memory is the area above the 1-megabyte mark on an 80286- or
80386-based PC; it's simply a linear extension of the RAM below 1 megabyte.

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from Microsoft’s CP/M BASIC, GW BA¬
SIC has been largely supplanted by newer
offerings such as QuickBASIC and
Turbo BASIC. Nevertheless, GWBASIC
is still an important standard in the PC
world because IBM shipped it with all its
machines.

Hercules Graphics Card (HGC)

Of the original IBM PC display adapters,
neither the CGA nor the MDA provided
everything early PC users wanted. The
CGA could display graphics but used a
coarse 8- by 8-character cell; the MDA
displayed much clearer 9 by 14 charac¬
ters but could show only text.

The Hercules graphics card, intro¬
duced during the early days of the PC,
gave users the best of both worlds (except
for color). It emulated the MDA and ran
on the same monochrome TTL display,
but it added monochrome graphics capa¬
bilities with a higher resolution than the

CGA’s. It also included a parallel printer
port like theMDA’s.

Generally speaking, the HGC has now
been outmoded by newer adapters that
bring the same resolution (or better) to
color screens, but it remains one of the
most successful third-party graphics
board standards.

Industry Standard Architecture
(ISA)

ISA refers to the bus signals and timings
used in the original PC and AT com¬
puters. Because no formal timing speci¬
fications have ever been published for
this bus, it has been thought of as an ad
hoc standard; to this day, peripheral
cards are often tested empirically for ISA
compatibility. Proponents of EISA and
MCA believe that one of these newer ar¬
chitectures will eventually replace or
supersede ISA.

continued

Vfnluit. DUB-H. Uartor Vfc pt, Vbci. and Vtooti ait trademarks of Golden Bow Syann*.

212 Fail 1989 • B Y T E IBM Special Edition

S Systems 10 MHz XT

• Intel 8088-1 CPU • Enhanced 101 key keyboard

• Phoenix BIOS • XT style case

• 640K on board • 165W power supply

• TEAC 360K floppy drive

• Multi I/O w/lP, IS, 1G.
fdc, clock

XT/10

Drives

Video Options

Mono CGA

EGA

VGA

Single

650

775

1045

1115

Dual

675

855

1125

1195

20MB

975

1150

1425

1495

40MB

1125

1305

1575

1645

S Systems 286/12

• Intel 80286-12 CPU

• Ami or Phoenix BIOS

• 1MB HAM on board

• TEAC 1 44 3.5" floppy drive

• Hard/floppy drive controller

• Enhanced 101 key keyboard

• Baby AT style case

• 200W power supply

• Multi I/O card w/lP, 2S ports

AT 286-12

Video options

Drives

Mono

EGA

VGA

Single

855

1305

1375

20MB

1190

1640

1715

40MB

1345

1795

1865

S Systems 386-20

• Intel 80386-20 CPU

• Hard/floppy controller 11:1)

• Ami BIOS

• Enhanced 101 key keyboard

• 1MB on board

• AT full style case

• TEAC 1.44 Sc 1.2MB floppy

• 220W power supply

drives

• IP, 2S ports

AT 386-20

Video options

Drives

Mono

EGA

VGA

1795

2225

2305

20MB

2028

2475

2545

40MB

2325

2625

2700

80MB

2450

2885

2965

Monochrome Monitors

Amdek V210A.$85

Amdek V410A.150

NEC Multisync GS.220

Samsung mono-12 flat .105

Samsung mono 14.105

Hard Drives_

Seagate 20MB . .. . . $225

Seagate 40MB . 410

Seagate 80MB . 600

Plus Hardcard-20 . 535

Plus Hardcard-40 . 670

Plus Passport-20 . 415

Plus Passport-40 . 560

Thpe Drives_

Archive 5240 . $325

Archive 5540 . 345

Archive VP601 . 675

Mountain 4340 . 400

Math Co-processors _

Intel 80287-8 .$225

Intel 80287-10 . 260

Intel 80387-16 . 415

Intel 80387-20 . 470

Intel 80387-25 . 590

Intel 80387SX . 375

Intel 80c287 . 315

Software_

Aldus Pagemaker . $455

dBASEIV . 450

Lotus 1-2-3 v. 3 . 310

Lotus Symphony . 415

Microsoft Windows 286 . 70

Microsoft Windows 386 . 130

Microsoft Excell . 285

Microsoft Word . 215

Microsoft Works . 105

Paradox 3.0 . 415

PFS First Publisher . 70

Ventura Publisher . 485

Word Perfect 5.0 . 220

Symantac Q&A 3.0 . 215

Mice_

Logitech Serial Mouse . Call

Logitech Bus Mouse . Call

Microsoft Mice . Call

Modems_

US Robotics 1200 . Call

US Robotics 2400 . Call

Okitel 1200B int . 125

Okitel 2400B int . 200

Okitel 2400B Plus int . 285

Laptop Computers_

Tbshiba 1600-20 . $3375

Tbshiba 1600-40 . 3775

Tbshiba 3100E . 2800

Tbshiba 3200 . 3500

Tbshiba 5100-40 . 4275

Tbshiba 5100-100 . 4925

Tbshiba 5200-40 . 5185

Toshiba 5200-100 . 5475

Zenith Supersport 286 . Call

Scanners_

HP Scanjet . Call

Logitech Scan Man . 225

Niscan OCR . 395

Surge Protectors_

Curtis Diamond . Call

Curtis Emerald . Call

Curtis Ruby . Call

Kensington Masterpiece . 100

Fax Machines_

Sharp FO-220.$750

Sharp FO-300 . 1025

Sharp FO-330 . 1075

Murata 1200 . 650

Murata 1600 . 875

Color/EGA Monitors _

Amdek C732 .$445

Amdek C722 . 515

AST EGA.515

Mitsubishi 1410C .345

Mitsubishi 1430C .405

Samsung EGA 14 .375

VGA/CAD Monitors_

Mitsubishi 1381A.$515

NEC Multisync UA.505

NEC Multisync 3D.675

NEC Multisync plus.915

NEC Macsync.600

Sony 1302P.Call

Printers_

NEC P2200 .$330

NEC P5200 .525

NEC P5300 .695

Okidata 320P.375

Okidata 321P.520

Okidata 390 .520

Okidata 391 .705

Okidata 393.1105

Okidata 393C.1185

Tbshiba 301.315

Toshiba 311.380

Toshiba 341SL.650

Toshiba 351SX.985

Laser Printers_

NEC LC 890 .$3405

Tbshiba Pagelaser .2785

HP Laserjet 11/1 ID.Call

Plotters_

HI DMP-52 $2495

HI DMP-52MP.2945

HI DMP-61 .3245

HI DMP-62.4000

Video Boards_

Hercules Color card.$155

Hercules Incolorcard .210

Hercules VGA.189

Paradise EGA-350 .195

Paradise EGA-480 .210

Paradise VGA-Plus.280

Paradise VGA-Plus-16.320

Paradise VGA-Prof.470

Quadram Quadega .250

Video 7 Vega Deluxe.225

Video 7 Vega VGA .300

Video 7 Fastwrite VGA.380

Video VRAM-VGA.475

Multifunction/Memory Boards_

AST Rampage 2-256 .$290

AST Rampage-286.Call

AST Rampage Plus-286.420

Intel Above 286-Plus.435

Intel Above PS286 Plus.485

Floppy Drives_

Tbshiba 360K.$70

Tbshiba 1.2MB.85

Tbshiba 720K.75

Tbshiba 1.44MB.90

TEAC 360K.75

TEAC 1.2MB.90

TEAC 720K.80

TEAC 1.44MB.90

Accelerator Boards_

Intel Inboard 386-PC.650

Intel Inboard 386 .900

To order call 1-800-837-3573; Fax # 708-495-2629

• Lease Available

• Certified & Cashiers Check

• Wire-TYansfer, Money Orders

• Personal & Co. checks allow 10 days
to clear.

• No returns without RMA#

• 30 Day Return Policy

• No returns on Software

• Prices subject to change without
notice.

ELS ENTERPRISES, LTD.

15 E. Madison, Lombard, IL 60148

Hours: Monday-Friday, 8am-6pm CST
Saturday 10am-4pm

Circle 95 on Reader Service Card

Small Drive.

This sleek little drive is our
Host-Powered Plus. Shop
around. Compare this ex¬
ceptional 3.5" drive with our
competition. It's about 1 /3
the size, at least $20 cheaper,
and it comes with all hard¬
ware and software needed
for most installations. In
fact, all our 3.5" and 5 V4"
products are a great deal.
They come with documenta¬
tion PC Magazine calls
"outstanding" and are
backed by knowledgeable
sales and technical support
teams. When you're ready
for the best, call Manzana,

Manzana.

HOST-POWERED PLUS $374.95

External 1,44MB 3.5" drive for ATs*
HIGH-DENSITY EXTERNAL $384.95
Host-powered 1.44MB drive for XTs.

Indudes HDC to replace controller.

3rd INTERNAL™ PLUS $289.95

Third internal 3,5" 1.44MB drive for ATs,
INTERNAL PLUS $199.95

1.44MB 3.5'" drive in a 51/4" frame for ATs.

M AN Z AN AVI.2 $374.95

External L2MB/360K 5 V4 "drive for PS/2s.
MANZAN A/360 $344.95

External 360K 51 M " drive for PS/2s.
MANZAN A/1.44 $374.95

External 1.44MB 3.5" drive for PS/2 model 30-
3rd INTERNAL™ MUX CARD $99.95
Supports a third internal 3.5" drive.

H1GH-DENSITY

CONTROLLER (HDC) $94 95

Replaces XT controller to support L44 MB
3*5" drives, such as Internal Plus.

Manzana

Manzana Microsystems, Inc.
PO Box 2117 • Goleta, CA 93118
--, (Fax: 805/968-5449)

UMLl 805/968-1387

A STANDARDS

Micro Channel Architecture (MCA)
With the advent of the PS/2 machines,
IBM introduced the Micro Channel ar¬
chitecture, a multimaster, fully speci¬
fied 16-/32-bit bus with a minimum
cycle time of 100 nanoseconds. The
MCA is IBM’s contender to replace ISA ,
but it is seeing only a limited acceptance
due to incompatibility with existing
cards and IBM royalty considerations.

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows (and its 80286 and
80386 cousins) is a windowing and
multitasking environment for PCs and
compatibles running MS-DOS or PC-
DOS. The Windows user interface re¬
sembles that of IBM and Microsoft’s Pre¬
sentation Manager for OS/2.

Monochrome Display/Printer
Adapter (MDA)

MDA was one of the original display op¬
tions on the PC. Driving a high-persis-
tence TTL monochrome monitor with
two display intensities, the MDA showed
25 lines of 80 characters each. The 9- by
14-character cell made this adapter supe¬
rior to the CGA (which used an 8- by 8-
characler cell) for text.

Microsoft Disk Operating System
(MS-DOS)

This PC operating system had its origins
in an 8086-based CP/M clone, 86-DGS*
created by Seattle Computer Products,

MS-Net

MS-Net is Microsoft’s standard for net¬
working MS-DOS, Using a redirector
and NetBIOS, an MS-Net-based network
allows peer-to-peer networking through
the server message block (SMB) protocol.

Multicolor Graphics Array (MCGA)
IBM introduced the MCGA as part of the
PS/2 Model 30. it provides some of the
capabilities of IBM’s VGA display adapt¬
er and runs with a PS/2 analog monitor.

NetBIOS

NetBIOS is an API that lets programs
running on IBM PCs access a LAN,
Commands are provided to control activ¬
ity on the Medium Access Control and
session layers of the International Stan¬
dards Organization protocol stack; all
other layers are hidden, MS-Net uses Net¬
BIOS to implement peripheral sharing.
(See M Understanding NetBIOS,” Janu¬
ary BYTE.)

OS/2

OS/2 is a protected-mode multitasking
operating system developed by IBM and

DICTIONARY

Microsoft for the AT, PS/2s, and other
machines with Intel 80286, 80386, or
80486 microprocessors. Although it is
not in widespread use at the present mo¬
ment, OS/2 (along with Presentation
Manager , its graphical user interface) is
slowly gaining popularity in the PC
marketplace.

PC-DOS

IBM’s PC-DOS is an OEM version of
MS-DOS. There are various versions of
PC-DOS that populate the majority of
PCs and compatibles.

PC-DOS-CP/M Text File Format

The text file format used by PC-DOS is
the same as that used by its ancestor,
CP/M. Lines are terminated by both a
carriage return character (CR, ASCII
code 13) and a linefeed character (LF,
ASCII code 10), and the end of the file is
indicated by a Control-Z, (Many PC-
DOS programs omit the latter convention
and rely on the operating system’s record
of the file size.)

Although this file format doesn’t have
an official name, all files sent as text via
the XMODEM protocol, for instance,
must be converted to it before being
transmitted. Other operating systems
{such as Unix) use a linefeed character
alone to end a line; still others use a lone
carriage return.

Presentation Manager (PM)
Presentation Manager is the graphical
user interface standard developed for
OS/2 by IBM and Microsoft. (It was first
shipped with OS/2 1.1.) PM uses over¬
lapping windows, each containing an op¬
tional mouse-driven menu* PM is an
evolving standard; one of the most sig¬
nificant ways that OS/2 1.2 is expected to
be different from 1.1 is in its greater use
of icons.

Professional Graphics Adapter
(PGA)

The IBM professional graphics adapter
was a high-end intelligent graphics board
mostly used for CAD applications. Due
to several factors, PGA did not become a
popular standard.

RS-232 Connector (nine-pin)

When IBM decided to make a combina¬
tion serial/parallel adapter for the AT, a
small connector format was needed to
allow both of the interfaces to fit on the
back of a standard ISA interface card.
Because the parallel connector could not
be shrunk, the serial connector was; sub¬
sequently, the nine-conductor pin-out for

continued

214 Fall 1989 ■ B Y T E IBM Special Edition

TOGO

The Executive
325ET is small
enough and tight
enough to make it
the most powerful
transportable ever

Standard features:

* Intel 80386 processor running at
>5 Mh*.

wait state operation,
ftanced intelligent controller for
ms hard disk access time and
a transfer rate of 4 MB per second.

* 2 MB of RAM expandable to 16
MB (8 MB on boardj,

* High performance 16-bit VGA
video adaptor.

* 3-5 fr 1.44 MB diskette drive
for 20 Mhz Intel 80387

coprocessor and 10 Mh? Intel
80287 coprocessor
« 6 industry standard expansion
slots (ISA).

$3799 or just $im per month

80 MB $4645' $4995 ;
160 MB $5695 : $5995'

Includes system, motiLiof, Hard Uisk and on-^itc warranty'

AND THERE'S MORE».

1. Toll-Free Technical Support

Our friendly and knowledgeable
factory trained engineers are just a
phone call away. And we can solve
most problems right over the phone.

2, Free on-site service

The 325ET comes with a full
year warranty. Supported by
Universal Protection Plan with a net¬
work of hundreds of service engi¬
neers, instant help is just a phone
call away. Service is also available at
any of our Super Stores, or at any of
the hundreds of UPP service centers.
3* Trade up and save more

Now r you can put that older and
slower IBM', Compaq*, or Apple® to
better use. Your old system may be
worth a thousand dollars or more.
Our new Trade-Up program allows
you to move up to the latest technol¬
ogy for less. Call one of our systems
consultants for complete details,

4. 30 day money back guarantee

Your total satisfaction is our
goal. If for any reason you are not
completely satisfied with the 325ET
you may return it within 30 days for
a full refund,

5* Easy financing available

We offer both consumer credit
for individual purchases, and leasing
for business customers. Call us today
and find out how easy it is to own
the next generation of computers.

To Order or Inquire,

800 - 423-1

California; Bakersfield, Burbank,

Fullerton, Irvine,

San Jose, Sunnyvale,

Westminster, Woodland Hills,

Kansas: Lenexa, Wichita
Missouri: St, Louis
Oklahoma; Stillwater
Tennessee: Memphis

OCopyri&hJ ]5d9 Prii'iriCy i3ne Cf.imfnWrr Gplpadtatt All light. 1 . Executive, 3AFT, and the Priority Otw logo arc rcftLuercd [rademaria.

IHM is a rcgbicfcd UTKiemarii at The IBM Gorporaliun. 386-'A is a registered DfOdeffladt of CCmpati Computer Corporation UW6 id y regiM-erad
trcdtmtrfc Of tntrf Coeponufen Apple e a Kgtseml lnwfa ll tfrh of Apple Computer, Inc.

ds n n nm

The New 25 MHz Executive
325ET combines all the latest tech¬
nologies in the most advanced
386 computer available : And it f s
transportable.

$10 PER MEGABYTE
OF DRAM

The 325ET has a hard drive access
speed almost undetect ably different
from that of dynamic memory. For the
first time, the large capacity of a hard
drive is accessible at an access time of
one millisecond (1 ms). Why limit
yourself to 2, H or 16 megabytes of fast
memory and pay $500 per megabyte,
w hen you can have up to 160 mega¬
bytes at a cost as low as $10 per
megabyte?

50 HMES FASTER

Instead of w aiting for the 65 mil¬
lisecond (ms) access time of an MFM
drive, or even the 17 ms of an ESDI
drive, you can have instantaneous
access to your data. The 325ET is
blindingly fast with an average disk
access time of 1 ms. In addition, the
system architecture allows data trans¬
fer speeds that match drive capabili¬
ties, (That's really fast!). In fact, the
overall read/write performance of the
325ET is 50 times faster (5,000%) than
the Compaq® 386/25.

The 325ET, when located along
side of a monitor, takes little desk space.
The compact design of the 325ET lets
you carry iL onto an airplane and easily
stow it under your seat. Imagine bring¬
ing he equivalent of seven four drawer
filing cabinets worth of valuable infor¬
mation to your next meeting — accessi¬
ble in just 1 ms.

Circle 217 on Reader Service Card

A STANDARDS DICTIONARY

RS-232C became a de facto industry
standard. The nine pins are assigned as
follows:

1—carrier detect; 2—receive data; 3—
transmit data; 4—data terminal ready;
5—ground; 6—data set ready; 7—re¬
quest to send; 8—clear to send; 9—ring
indicator.

Server Message Block Protocol
(SMB)

The SMB protocol is used in MS-Net net¬
works for peer-to-peer file and periph¬
eral sharing. SMB is generally imple¬
mented using the session commands of
NetBIOS ; however, implementations are
available for machines other than the PC
(e.g., the VAX) so that they can act as
servers.

TesSerRact (TSR)

TesSerRact is a standard developed by a
team of programmers on CompuServe
for. terminate-and-stay-resident pro¬
grams for the PC. TSR programs devel¬
oped to this standard can coexist amica¬
bly with one another and can be removed
safely from memory. TesSerRact builds

on the work of an earlier standardization
effort called Ringmaster.

Video Graphics Array (VGA)

VGA is IBM’s primary graphics stan¬
dard for the PS/2 line of machines, and
VGA-compatible graphics cards are cur¬
rently available from many vendors. The
VGA works with either a color monitor
or a black-and-white gray-scale monitor;
it is able to sense automatically the type
of monitor and adjust accordingly. The
maximum graphics resolution of the
VGA is 640 by 480 pixels; it can display
up to 16 simultaneous colors at that reso¬
lution, or 256 simultaneous colors with a
resolution of 320 by 200 pixels.

Virtual Control Program Interface
(VCPI)

The VCPI is a standard that allows pro¬
grams that take advantage of the 80386’s
protected mode to run under MS-DOS or
PC-DOS .

Voice Communications Application
Program Interface (VCAPI)

Part of IBM’s voice communications op¬
tion (now out of production) for the AT,

the VCAPI allows applications to control
interfaces to telephone lines, a speech
synthesizer, a modem, a dialer, an adap¬
tive differential pulse-code modulation
(ADPCM) sound-recording/playback fa¬
cility, and a speech recognition facility.
Reached via interrupt 14h, the VCAPI
manages a multitasking TMS 320 signal¬
processing chip, along with its associ¬
ated hardware.

WordStar File Format

Like the standard MS-DOS text file for¬
mat, this format is a veteran of the CP/M
operating system. It is similar to the stan¬
dard text file format but sets the high bit
in the last letter of each word in filled and
justified text. The high bit of each char¬
acter is also used to distinguish between
hard and soft end-of-line sequences and
movable and nonmovable hyphens. Con¬
trol characters set off regions of the text
with special attributes, such as boldface
and underlining. ■

L. Brett Glass is a freelance program¬
mer , author, and hardware designer re¬
siding in Palo Alto, California. He can he
reached on BIX as “glass. ”

How does FOUNTAIN 386SX

compare with a true 386?

Land¬

mark

.advanced

Integer
Add Loop

Integer

Multiply

Loop

String Sort
and Move

Prime

Number

Sieve

802086 1
Instruction
Set

FOUNTAIN 386SX

21.2

18.0

.88

.60

1.20

1.76

4.07

COMPAQ 386/16

20.0

17.6

.99

.60

137

1.87

4 23 f

PC Magazine Benchmark Tests (Time in SeconAi
Compaq is a trademark of Compaq Computer Corp

Circle 106 on Reader Service Card

FOUNTAIN 386SX. The Smart Choice.

FOUNI4IN

FOUNTAIN TECHNOLOGIES INC.

12K WORLD'S FAIR DRIVE
SOMERSET. NJ 08873
TEL: (201)563-4800
FAX : (201) 563-4999

PROCESSOR Intel 32-tnl
386SX al 16 MHz: socket for Intel
387SX coprocessor, real time
dock/calendar

MEMORY 1 MB Of DRAM
standard. zero-wall state, maxi¬
mum 4 MB on board; expandable

to 16 MB

EXPANSION Six 16-bit and
two 8-bit expansion slots

POWER SUPPLY 200 watts
standard; 110 VAC at 60 Hz; 220
VAC at 50 Hz

KEYBOARD Enhanced 101-

key layout

FIXED-DISK CONTROLLER

High-performance AT-type 1:1 m-
tedeave or ESDI controller
STORAGE SW 1.2 MB flop¬
py disk drive standard: 3V£* 1.44
MB optional; choice of 40. 80.

110 or 320 MB hard disk dnve
OPTIONS Monochrome dis
play: FTN Hercules Kxwnpatible
display board, FTN 1451 14-inch
flat-screen monitor. VGA display
FTN VGA Extender™ with
800x600 resolution

Don’t Ttash Your PC
Because of the
Software Revolution

SOIA’s family of award winning
Enhancement Products extends the
life of any PC into the 1990s!

Any IBM, Amstrad, Olivetti,
AT&T6300, Zenith, Compaq, and
other 8088/86 PC compatibles com¬
bined with the SOIA 286i or
SOTA386si and the Memory/16i will
allow you to run any of the next gen¬
eration of advanced software.

Salvage your PC from obsolescence.

M SQTA 386*^ 16 MHz PC accelerator with
16K cache ■ SOTA 286i, 12.5 MHz PC acceler¬
ator with 16K cache ■ Memory/16i, up to
8 MB of 16-bit LIM 4.0 accelerator memory
■ Floppy I/O Plus, floppy controller for all
3.5 * 5.25 n floppies plus serial/paraliel ports.

For details on how to
receive 1MB of Memory FREE,
contact your authorized 4
SOIA dealer or distributor. c f

M IRiy

% %■ m ; w

f i |

s _—_

1-800-237-1713,
in CA, 408-745-1111.

SOTA Technology, Inc.

559 Weddell Drive, Sunnyvale, CA 94089
Tel: 408-745-U1I, Fax: 408-745-1640

S'TA

STATE OF THE ART TECHNOLOGY™

SOTA 286i, SOTA 3S6si T Memory/lfii, Floppy I/O Plus are trademarks of SOTA Technology, Inc.
All Other products mentioned are trademarks of their respective manufacturers.

For PC-AT software blues, come and see the SOTA solution at COMDEX, booth #W862.

Circle 240 on Reader Service Card

* *

competition.

EVEREX STEP
286/12

COMPAQ* DESKPRO
286

*MIPS bcmhmiirks band cw The Diitnba.it Croup Riwer Meter MIPS version 12.

EVEREX STEP
286/20

NO COMPARISON

EVEREX STEP
386is

COMPAQ DESKPRO
386s

s you can plainly see, every Everex STEP™system, from one end ol our IBM“compatible
line to the other, runs a good deal faster than anything the competition has to offer.
So il you're looking for the absolute fastest way to run today’s complex applica¬
tions, it’s time to take a closer look at our STEPs.

What you’ll find is the thing that makes them faster. Namely, superior design.

One example is our proprietary AMMA™ cache management architecture that lets
you tear along at record speeds, especially in multi-user, multi-tasking applications,

And AMMA is application transparent. So you gain speed without losing compatibility.

EVEREX STEP
386/16

NO COMPARISON

! Discontinued Model I

EVEREX STEP
386/20

EVEREX STEP
386/25

EVEREX STEP
386/33

COMPAQ DESKPRO

386/33

Better yet, you'll find that STEP systems are about as flexible as they come. We offer,
for instance, both small-footprint and standard chassis sizes. 8 full-length expansion slots.

3 front panel selectable clock speeds. Plus BIOS support for over 60 drives.

All brought to you by one of the fastest growing computer companies in
America. Namely, Eve rex. And a nationwide network of the finest resellers who
ever configured a system or supported a customer.

WEtcH makes your next step a rather obvious one. Call 1-800-334-4552 for more
information and the name of your nearest Authorized Everex Reseller. — =£VEREX—

AMMA, Everex and STE-EOff twdtrwrhs of Eftnx Systmf, In if. i86 ji a trademark of Intel C'orp AH other mnte<, mdwitrd A ® Are frgnUrril tmdtffmb of thar rrspiLtsve hoUm C 1989 EvrrtX jrjutmii t Int

Circle 99 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS: 100)

Don’t Let the
Desktop
Programming
Revolution
Start

Without Y)u.

Presenting Matrix Layout 2.0

The Desktop Programming revo¬
lution has begun. More and more people
are maximizing the productivity of their
desktop computers without learning to
write a line of code. It began with Matrix
Layout. And continues with Layout 2.0.
More Power to the People

Matrix invented Desktop Pro¬
gramming to let you create your own
programs right on your own PC. Now,
Layout 2.0 makes it even easier to create
your own powerful, professional-quality
applications.

Start with Layout’s tools window.
Everything you’ll need to build your
program can be accessed by mouse or
keystroke.

Next, use Layout’s graphics and
text tools to build a flowchart model of
your program. Create your own windows,
icons, and buttons. Cut and paste func¬
tions from other Layout programs. Or
use the BlackBox Manager to add a
BlackBox—a pre-built capability such
as telecommunications or dBase support
— to your Layout program. All, without
writing a line of code.

Layout 2.0 is also a hypertext tool,
allowing you to build HypercardMike
cards, with text and graphics, and link
them to related cards in any file. Use it to
create cards for your flowcharts or to

create hypertext applications that will
run on any IBM-compatible PC.

Power to the Professional
Once your program is complete,
Layout 2.0 can automatically create a
ready-to-run .EXE file for use by any IBM
PC. Or have Layout 2.0 write it in Turbo
C, Lattice C, Microsoft C or QuickBASIC.
The result: you've got a professional,
stand-alone program that does exactly
what you want it to. Use it, share it,
modify it. You’ve got the power.

And a Powerful Bargain
For just $199.95 you get the entire
Layout 2.0 package, including free tech¬
nical support, and more programming
power than you’ve ever had on your desk¬
top. For more information, the location
of your nearest Matrix dealer, or a copy
of the Matrix Layout 2.0 VHS demon¬
stration video (just $9.95 for shipping &
handling),call today.

1-800-533-5644

(in Massachusetts, 617-567-0037)

Join the Desktop Programming
revolution. Order Matrix Layout 2.0, today!

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BT89IBM

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m q

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P S I

Tun kum Calaalir

, M.. JSL

.11 . ML

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With Layout 2.0. getting started
is as easy as choosing a tool.

|IH"« gi —jsu

--B

jp] i!KX *,.».]

|@|«B.'.Sre9n.. I

■' 1

a.IactaJ

imp l»l

| w I Iat"ka iiar'r Olai.a

- * — ir — -*

(PjpTw! ttlKSi.

I^Iev.-whs.

nwaaft,. ]

Design and build your programs by
using a simple flowchart.

c®

Create HypercardMike cards,
linked to information in any file.

Li» l.I.a: .■g)e!a*«B7

Um thtilnni j [%] w ^

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• 1111 ■ »"□« = *<*«

¥ ■ ■ oc ■ ■ « in ■ 111 x >r n ii II Hill

icoffti«rt| rawon

Use the Paint tool to create
powerful graphics and buttons.

llersion 100

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Layout creates finished, stand-alone
programs for any IBM PC.

Matrix Software Technology Corporation • One Massachusetts Technology Center • Harborside Drive • Boston. M A 02128 • (617) 567-0037

Matrix Software/ UK • Matrix House. Derriford Business Park • Dcmford. Plymouth • Devon PL6 5QZ. England • 0752-796-363.

Matrix Software. Europe • Gddcnaakscbaan 476 • 3030 Leuven. Belgium • 016202064
The following are registered and unregistered trademarks of the companies listed. Matnx Layout. Matrix Software Technology Corporation. HyperCard.

Apple Computer: IBM. International Business Machines Corporation. dBase. AshtonTate.

Circle 168 on Reader Service Card

IBM SPECIAL ISSUE

Optimizing

Numeric

Coprocessing

Advanced numeric devices need quality code
to deliver rated performance

Stephen Fried

ntil the day arrives when
CPUs with on-chip
FPUs, such as the 80484
and T800, perform float¬
ing-point operations in a
single cycle, there will be a need for nu¬
meric coprocessors like the Weitek 3167
and 4167. These devices employ large
areas of silicon to perform multiplication
and addition nearly as fast as they are fed
operands and operators. That
also makes them exquisitely
sensitive to the quality of the
CPU code that drives them.

ITl explore how compiler op¬
timizations can yield a nearly
sixfold increase in the speed
of a Weitek 3167,

The art of generating fast¬
running programs boils down
to two problems: transform¬
ing the program into a new
program that is faster but
gives the same results (opti¬
mization) and choosing the
fastest sequence of processor
instructions for that new pro¬
gram (code generation).

A compiler’s front end in¬
cludes components specific to
a particular language: the
scanner, which recognizes
lexical elements, and the
parser, which builds a tree-
structured representation of
the program. The compiler's
tree walker , or intermediate

section, traverses the representation and
rearranges it in a more efficient form.
The back end t or code generator, writes
the object code. You can find and per¬
form optimizations in the front end and
the intermediate section.

Front-End Optimizations

The most common front-end optimiza¬
tions are strength reduction s-transfor-

mations that replace one run-time calcu¬
lation with another, faster one. For
example, the FORTRAN expression
(x**2) can be replaced by (x*x); simple
multiplication is about 10 times faster
than exponentiation. For an 80386 run¬
ning with a 3167, it pays to perform this
strength reduction for integral exponents
that fall between -4 and 11.

Other opportunities for strength re¬
duction are cases of multipli¬
cation or division by 1 or — 1;
multiplication, subtraction, or
addition of 0; and addition or
subtraction of 1. However, the
new generation of coproces¬
sors invalidates some previ¬
ously standard strength re¬
ductions, For example, it
used to be faster to add or
shift than to multiply, so an
excellent reduction was to
convert multiplications to a
series of shifts and additions
where possible. The more
powerful multipliers of the
latest generation of coproces¬
sors render that optimization
unnecessary.

Not all strength reductions
are made in the interest of
generating the best code. For
example, many compilers
perform the famous Whet¬
stone strength reduction
exp(ln(u)) = u. This reduc-
continued

ILLUSTRATION: ROB COLVIN© 19E9

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Fall 1989 221

OPTIMIZING NUMERIC COPROCESSING

tion—only one of a number of similar
ones that could be made but are not—
plays a key role in the speed of the Whet¬
stone, which affects the sales of chips
and compilers but little else.

The other common front-end optimi¬
zation is the reduction of constant expres¬
sions into literal constants. If the com¬
piler can determine that an expression’s
arguments are constants, it can perform
the operation itself and replace the opera¬
tor node in the tree with a constant node.

Intermediate Optimizations

Among the intermediate optimizations
are eliminating code that never executes
or whose output is never referenced,
moving loop-invariant code outside
loops, rearranging loops, caching (plac¬
ing in registers) hot variables and ad¬
dresses used in loops, and eliminating
common subexpressions. Such optimiza¬
tions are normally accompanied by a
data-flow analysis that generates statis¬
tics about each block, procedure, and
variable in the program. These statistics
will be used downstream by the code
generator. Since all this information is
stored in the tree, the process is often re¬
ferred to as “decorating the tree.”

Intermediate optimizations can make
a huge difference in the way some code
performs and hardly any in other cases.
Why? If you write code that already in¬
corporates these optimizations, there's
little the compiler can improve. In prac¬
tice, though, manually optimized code
isn’t very legible, so many programmers
prefer to write more readable code and
let the optimizer spruce it up. Most pro¬
grams do benefit from optimization.

Inlining of procedures is an important
optimization. As more programmers
write in C and use structured techniques,
the overhead of function calls becomes
significant. Such programs tend to jump
around as much as they execute. Assume
that it takes 100 cycles to call and return
from a function that takes only 20 cycles
to execute. Placing the procedure in-line
(i.e M within the main program flow)
yields a fivefold improvement.

The technique used to inline functions
is to compile all the procedures in an ap¬
plication into unoptimized trees, taking
statistics about each. Then the tree-walk¬
er decides whether to graft a procedure
onto the tree (i.e., inline it) or call it. In¬
lining plays a crucial role in speeding up
systems that incur a big penalty when re¬
quired to refill the processor’s pipeline.

Generating Code

Listing 1: FORTRAN code for
the crucial section of the Whetmat
benchmark .

INTEGER I, J,K

DIMENSION k{ 140,Mo) ,B{140,140) f
0 ( 140 , 140 )

DO 150 I = 1,100
DO 140 J = 1,100
0 ( 1 ,J) = 0
DO 130 K = 1,100
C(I,J) - C(I,J) +

CONTIHUE
140 CONTINUE
150 CONTINUE

Listing 2: Pseudocode for the
crucial section 5 inner loop .

start:

Compute the add re as of the i,kth
element of A

load A(I,K) In fp register 1
compute the addreas of the kjth
element of B

multiply B(K,J) with the contents
of fp register 1
compute the address of the i,jth
element of C

add C(I,J) to fp register 1
compute the address of the ijtb
element of C

store the contents of fp register I
to C£l,J)
increment k

test k and Jump to start IF less
than 101

Listing 3: The inner loop with
register-caching optimization .

DUM = 0

DO 130 K - 1,100
DUM = DUM + A£I,K)*B{K,J)
130 CONTINUE

computers will be able to do 20 to 40 mil¬
lion floating-point operations per second
(MFLOPS) as long as everything stays
on-chip. Variables that stay in registers
can be accessed much faster than those in
the cache or off-chip memory. Going off-
chip for operands is like throwing out an
anchor from a sailboat—something you
just don’t want to do. Intelligent register
allocation is the way to prevent that.

A good compiler analyzes variable us¬
age over procedures before it allocates
registers. It also tries to keep the number
of variables that are register candidates
as large as possible until the allocation
has occurred. Even with data-flow anal¬
ysis, this task is complicated by the pos¬
sibility of aliases (i.e., multiple variables
that refer to the same location). So the
code generator tries to minimize the
analysis by doing a very thorough job on

just the hot spots in the code. This com¬
promise works well.

Peephole optimization smooths out the
rough edges in machine-generated code.
Its name reflects the small {two- or
three-instruction) window, or peephole,
used to examine the code. The peephole
optimizer looks for short sequences that
are easy to recognize and reduce. For ex¬
ample, the sequence

push eax
pop eax

is a meaningless piece of code that can be
removed in the peephole stage.

Benefits of Optimization

Now I want to present two benchmarks
Fve adapted from the Whetstone bench¬
mark. The first, which I call Whet sc ale,
tests scalar floating-point arithmetic and
measures raw coprocessor speed. This
benchmark is available on BIX along
with several other benchmarks under
“jmicroway.” The second, which I call
Whetmat, does a matrix multiply, which
complicates the arithmetic with index¬
ing. In the Whetmat, the interaction be¬
tween CPU and FPU makes good opti¬
mization especially critical. I’ll trace
what happens to the speed of the Weitek
3167 as the various optimization and
code-generation features of a FORTRAN
compiler are successively enabled.

When compiled with a globally opti¬
mizing compiler, the Whetscale mea¬
sures the rate at which a numeric copro¬
cessor performs elementary register-to-
register floating-point operations. These
operations are always the fastest because
they don’t reference memory and can
take advantage of the wide internal data
paths inside the coprocessor. The Whet¬
scale code is an example of a piece of
software that is 100 percent floating-
point-bound and for which it is easy to
figure out what the precise floating-point
activities are: 12 additions, 1 negate, 4
multiplies, and 4 floating-point stores
and loads. I developed a weighting
scheme that produces a result measured
in Whetscales, and these can be inter¬
preted as the number of scalar floating¬
point operations per second. Since there
are no 80386 instructions in the code, the
Whetscale—when compiled optimally,
with all variables in registers—places an
upper limit on coprocessor speed.

I ran the Whetscale on several ma¬
chines. The 25-MHz Acer was represen¬
tative of the best results. With a 25-MHz
Weitek 3167, the Acer achieved 3.05
MFLOPS. The 25-MHz 80387 result
was, by contrast, .798 MFLOPS. The re-

222 Fall 1989 * BYTE IBM Special Edition

OPTIMIZING NUMERIC COPROCESSING

suits can be interpreted simply. The Wei-
tek 3167 does over 3 million basic float¬
ing-point operations per second, the
80387 only about 800,000, Used as a
baseline, the Whetscaie makes it possi¬
ble to figure out how much time other
benchmarks waste doing address calcu¬
lations and fetching operands from mem¬
ory, For example, I weighted the Whet-
mat in the same way I weighted the
Whetscaie but at best got only 1.7
MFLOPS from the 3167 (see next sec¬
tion). From this I concluded that an opti¬
mally coded 3167 vector operation
spends 40 percent or more of its time per¬
forming nonnumerical activities.

The Whetmat Benchmark

I designed the Whetmat benchmark to
measure the speed of a single-precision
matrix multiplication. This is the kind of
real-world problem at which a good
FORTRAN compiler must excel. It also
shows how optimization is the key to
high-speed numeric processing. Listing
1 shows the most time-consuming part of
the Whetmat. It's slowed by several
things: two floating-point operations per
iteration of the loop, address calculations
for all elements in the arrays, and oper¬
and fetches from memory.

As l enabled the various optimizations
of the NDP FORTRAN compiler, the re¬
sults improved by a factor of 5.8. This
actually means that as the code im¬
proved, the number of 80386 cycles re¬
quired to support the Weitek 3167 de¬
clined by a factor of 5.8.

Listing 2 shows how a nonoptimizing
compiler would handle the Whetmat’s
inner loop. You can see immediately that
the address of C(I,J) is computed twice
per iteration—a waste of time. There are
three ways to tackle this problem. A
compiler that can remove local common
subexpressions would analyze this block,
discover that the second address calcula¬
tion was redundant, and eliminate it.
Similarly, a compiler that can remove
global common subexpressions would
find that the address of C(I,J) was com¬
puted in the previous block (when the ref¬
erenced element was initialized to zero)
and use this address for both references
since neither I nor X can change after the
initialization. If the register allocator
placed commonly used addresses in reg¬
isters, this would result in slightly better
code. Finally, since neither I nor J
changes in the Loop, they're loop-invari¬
ant (as are any expressions that depend
solely on them) and can be taken out of
the loop. Of these three methods, the
first is usually available, the second
sometimes, and the third rarely, because

it depends on data-flow analysis.

Once you've handled the redundant
address calculation, though, you've
barely scratched the surface. The com¬
putation of the addresses of the inner loop
variables is the next candidate for simpli¬
fication. These addresses depend on the
single variable K and several constants
that don’t change (I, J, and the size of the
array) as K does. K is an induction vari¬
able; the compiler figures out that, every
time K increments, it's necessary to add

4 to the current address of A and
4 x 140-560 to the address of B. It ac¬
complishes this by setting up registers to
hold the addresses of A and B and incre¬
menting them by 4 and 560 at the end of
the loop. This optimization, in conjunc¬
tion with the previous one, boosted per-
formance on the Weitek from .29
MFLOPS to .77 MFLOPS.

Next, the compiler can take advantage
of the fact that the array elements C(I,J)

continued

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BYTE IBM Special Edition

Fall 1989 223

OPTIMIZING NUMERIC COPROCESSING

refer to a single entity from the point of
initialization to the end of the inner loop.
This entity should be treated like a scalar
for the course of the calculation. That
way, the code generator can leave C(I,J)
in a register for the duration of the inner
loop, where it really belongs. The effect
of this optimization is to transform the
inner loop into the fragment shown in
Listing 3. This transformation is called
register caching. Few compilers perform
it because in addition to a global data¬
flow analysis it requires a careful search
for aliases. Because even some of the
best mainframe compilers don't do regis¬
ter caching, well-written programs like
LINPAK explicitly use dummy variables
in place of array elements when the array
element is being used as an accumulator.
With register caching turned on, perfor¬
mance jumped to 1.11 MFLOPS.

At this point, you're starting to scrape
the bottom of the barrel. The next opti¬
mization depends on an idiosyncrasy of
the 80386 prefetch mechanism and
works in conjunction with advanced
80386 addressing modes. The trick em¬
ployed here, called loop unrolling, en¬
tails placing sets of four loop iterations

in-line. It takes more space but runs
much faster because it keeps the proces¬
sor's pipeline filled. Since the 80386 has
to fill its prefetch queue every time it
makes a jump, unrolling the loop yields
considerable savings. At the same time,
the compiler can use base addressing
mode with an immediate constant that in¬
creases by 4 and 560 on each roll through
the loop. Loop unrolling brought the
benchmark result to L4 MFLOPS.

There’s one more possibility. Because
dot products are so important in the nu¬
merics repertoire, advanced FPUs like
the Weitek 3167 often supply a special
instruction to perform them. It's called
the multiply /accumulate, and NDP FOR¬
TRAN supports it. With the multiply/
accumulate switch turned on, the bench¬
mark result jumped to 1.7 MFLOPS.

In the process of turning on these opti¬
mizations, Whetmat performance went
from .291 MFLOPS to 1.7 MFLOPS-a
nearly sixfold improvement in code qual¬
ity. There’s another way to look at this:
The code in the inner loop of this pro¬
gram was reduced in size by a factor of
almost 6. By counting the 80386 op
codes executed per inner loop in each

case, I determined that the increase in
speed over the whole range of the experi¬
ment was virtually identical to the reduc¬
tion in the number of 80386 op codes per
loop—that is,

ratio of throughput = 1.7/2.91 =5.8
ratio of 80386 op codes/loop = 23/4

— 5.75

These results prove my thesis. In situa¬
tions where numeric operations run as
fast as basic CPU operations, the crucial
issues in attaining rated numeric
throughput are register allocation and re¬
duction of the number of CPU operations
required to support the numerics. The
next generation of numeric processors
will reach their full potential only with
the help of advanced optimization tech¬
niques that minimize the number of sup¬
porting 80386 (or 80486) operations. ■

Stephen Fried is well known for his work
in chemical lasers and the use of numeric
coprocessors in the IBM PC. He is vice
president of R & D at Micro Way, Inc., in
Kingston t Massachusetts, and can be
contacted on BIX c/o “editors."

Microcomputer News On-Line

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Inventing
the PC s
Future

Architectural limitations could have the DOS world up against the wall
without compatibility, technology, and design breakthroughs

Gordon A. Campbell

everal issues have to be
resolved before personal
computers will be able to
perform better, faster, or
more powerfully. One
major concern is that certain barriers
may have been reached and that going be¬
yond them may require more than just a
leap of faith. Jumping up to the next level
of personal computer performance may
not happen as quickly or as
smoothly as the orders of
magnitude of previous im¬
provement took place.

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higher and higher perfor¬
mance into microcomputers.

This process of continual ar¬
chitectural innovation driven
by silicon methodology—as

was the minicomputer of the 1970s,
launched by companies such as Digital
Equipment, Wang Laboratories, and
Data General. Today the industry is
firmly entrenched in phase three, the era
of the personal computer.

Each phase of this evolution was based
on a parallel development in semicon¬
ductor chip technology. This process is
especially true in the IBM PC world,
which is by far the fastest-
evolving branch of the com¬
puter industry.

Throughout the 1980s, the
PC -compatible world, includ¬
ing semiconductor suppliers,
PC manufacturers, and PC
users, has gone through some
interesting technology transi¬
tions. In most cases, the tran¬
sitions were driven primarily
by the rate of productivity and
the innovations present in sili¬
con technology.

The first PC, as defined by
IBM, processed approximate¬
ly 100,000 instructions per
second—about one-tenth of a
MIPS (I million instructions
per second). In those days
(the early 1980s) it cost about
$50,000 to put a theoretical 1
MIPS of processing power on
your desktop. During the last
five years or so, the suppliers
of microprocessors, systems
continued

opposed to merely cranking up CPU
speeds—will dominate the development
of the industry-standard personal com¬
puter in the 1990s.

Anything You Can Do...

The computer industry evolved through
three distinct phases. The first, really
started by IBM, was the mainframe
computer of the 1960s. The second phase

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Fall 1989 229

INVENTING THE PC’S FUTURE

logic, and other PC system semiconduc¬
tor components have driven the transfor¬
mation from one-tenth-of-a-MIPS ma¬
chines to 2- to 4-MIPS machines.

In the course of this transition, the cost
of that theoretical 1 MIPS of processing
power was driven below S1000. In fact,
some 80286-based machines now ship¬
ping already approach the $500-per-
MIPS point. By 1990, PC-compatible

machines may come with a standard 10
MIPS of processing power.

Sometime between 1990 and 1995,
lOQ-MIPS PCs should arrive. This im¬
provement in collective processing
power will bring the cost per MIPS down
below $50. The dramatic drop from
$50,000 to $50 per MIPS illustrates the
orders-of-magnitude increase in produc¬
tivity the industry has achieved (see fig¬

ure 1). This economy of scale is one rea¬
son PCs have reached such a staggering
level of sales.

The nose-diving cost of raw comput¬
ing power is the result of two factors:
progress in microprocessor technology
and the growing numbers of manufac¬
turers of integrated system logic, graph¬
ics, I/O, and communications chip sets.

continued

Figure 1: These curves represent processing power (in MHz and chip technology) and a PC time line ,

Succeeding generations of faster and more-complex microprocessors have married with ever-higher levels of integration
to produce lower computing costs per MIPS .

230 Fall 1989 * BYTE IBM Special Edition

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The advent of the microprocessor created
the PC and revolutionized the industry
because it offered end users vast amounts
of inexpensive processing power.

Closely related to the importance of
the microprocessor is the concept of the
chip set. With this innovation, manufac¬
turers were able to shoehorn the same
logic functions onto five or fewer very-
large-scaie-integration (VLSI) chips,
compared to the 100-plus small-scale-in¬
tegration and medium-scale-integration
chips that IBM had used to design the
original PC.

The coming of the chip set not only

PC industry is now fully
entrenched in the world
of CMOS.

lowered raw silicon costs but also pro¬
vided a way for manufacturers to easily
and quickly bring new generations of
PCs to market. The same concept was
applied to graphics and is now being ap¬
plied to I/0 T mass storage control, and
other PC subsystems.

Alphabet Stew

So far, the history of the PC, as ex-
pressed in the cost-per-MIPS model out¬
lined earlier, has followed a predictable
course: Through sheer manufacturing
volume and by offering architectural in¬
novations captured in silicon, silicon
suppliers brought down the cost of build¬
ing a PC.

What technologies are driving the sili¬
con suppliers? The integration power of
VLSI techniques rests on process tech¬
nology. In the early 1980s, the semicon¬
ductor industry was really just starting to
feel comfortable with its ability to inte¬
grate significant blocks of logic in a tech¬
nology called negative-well metal-oxide
semiconductor. NMOS was the first of
the so-called MOS technologies, which
have radically changed the semiconduc¬
tor industry. MOS technologies differ
radically from the previous power-
hungry so-called bipolar techniques.

NMOS made it theoretically possible
to manufacture thousands of transistors
on a single piece of silicon without exces¬
sive thermal and power constraints.

When this technology was first put into
place, NMOS was the highest-perfor-
mance, cheapest way to manufacture
transistors in an integrated block. How¬
ever, a related technology called CMOS
provided the technology to reach VLSI
levels of hundreds of thousands of tran¬
sistors on a chip and even ultra-large-
scale-integration levels of over 1 million
transistors on a chip.

During the same time frame in which
the industry was moving into NMOS and
CMOS process technologies, line-width
technologies, which govern the actual
physical dimensions of transistors, have
moved line widths from around 2 to 4
mils down to 4 to 5 microns and, today,
something like 1.5 microns and rapidly
going to 1 micron. Beyond CMOS, a
newer process technology known as Bi¬
CMOS (a hybrid of bipolar and CMOS
technologies) promises to deliver both
speed and the ability to integrate large
numbers of transistors.

The 1-micron CMOS process barrier
is a milestone in the semiconductor and
PC industries. As they make the transi¬
tion to 1-micron technologies, the possi¬
bility of producing the oft-talked-about
single-chip PC becomes a practical real¬
ity. The 1-micron barrier is a true water¬
shed for putting PCs into silicon technol¬
ogy. The technology is solid and is likely
to have a dramatic impact.

The PC industry is now firmly en¬
trenched in the world of CMOS. VLSI
circuits are driving integration levels to
the ultimate Holy Grail of single-chip
systems. PCs with single-chip AT-com-
patible logic are due to begin shipping
any day now.

The PC-compatible world is also just
entering the ULSI world, which is usu¬
ally defined as the ability to manufacture
1-million-plus transistors on a chip. One
of the first examples is Intel*s 80486
microprocessor with approximately 1.2
million transistors.

From the standpoint of PC-compatible
users, one way to view all this rapid tech¬
nology change is that when manufac¬
turers were saddled with NMOS and
line-width technologies of 2 to 5 mi¬
crons, they could produce only one-
tenth-MIPS machines, and the cost of 1
MIPS was very high. Today, as manu¬
facturers are about to cross the 1-micron
technology barrier, users have in their
sights 10-MI PS processing power below
the $50Q-per-MIPS cost threshold.
When less-than-1-micron process tech¬
nologies are reached, manufacturers will
see even more productivity gains, and
the 100-MIPS PC will become a reality.

continued

232 Fall 1989 * B Y T E IBM Special Edition

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#3 in a series on consumer futbits

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A complete rundown of product
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INVENTING THE PC’S FUTURE

What About Memory?

So far I have been discussing the logic
side of the equation: microprocessors,
systems logic, graphics, and so forth.
The memory side of the equation is
equally important, especially today with
the advent of enormous, memory-hungry
application programs and operating
systems.

The early PCs were shipped with 4K-
byte and then 16K-byte DRAM. Today,
after the transition through the 64K-byte

DRAM generation, which was probably
the briefest memory-density phase, the
256K-byte DRAM is the workhorse of
the industry. And, although artificially
high prices slowed down its acceptance
somewhat, the 1-megabit DRAM is
rapidly phasing in.

It did not take long for the 640K-byte
memory barrier inherent in MS-DOS to
become a headache; with PCs now rou¬
tinely shipping with 8 megabytes or more
of memory, the problem is compounded.

This has prompted many companies to
develop both hardware and software
solutions to enable users to transcend the
640K-byte barrier and be able to address,
even with the lower end of the processor
spectrum, large memory sizes in PCs.
Future machines will be designed to ac¬
cept many megabytes of memory largely
because today’s application programs
are starting to demand more memory
space for data and for the programs
themselves.

One result of faster processors coupled
with larger addressable memory space is
that users can handle larger computing
problems in more reasonable time
frames. This leads to a need to improve
the I/O to try to keep pace with process¬
ing power and available memory.

The I/O under the original definition
of the PC being about one-tenth that of a
1-MIPS machine was fairly adequate.
Then the AT came out, and it was about a
1-MIPS machine and, again, I/O wasn’t
really an issue.

But now that manufacturers have taken
the original 6-MHz AT and boosted it to
the 80286-powered machines that today
run at up to 25 MHz, they have boosted
theoretical throughput by an order of
magnitude. The implication of this is that
when you get that much additional pro¬
cessing power, more memory support
and better I/O are required. Today,
many of the old AT bus and XT bus struc¬
tures effectively hobble the processing
power.

With respect to I/O-bound perfor¬
mance, the most significant change is the
transition at IBM from the old industry-
standard architectures of the XT and the
AT to the new Micro Channel definition.
With Micro Channel, IBM provided
much better I/O capabilities and a bus
definition that had the flexibility to do
things that the old bus structure could
not, such as bus mastering.

The adoption of the Micro Channel
was not only an attempt to address I/O
problems, but also a major transition on
IBM’s part. In essence, the introduction
of the Micro Channel represents IBM’s
recognition that the adoption of main¬
frame computer architectures was re¬
quired to keep up in the PC performance
race. Today throughout the industry, so¬
phisticated mainframe techniques are
migrating down to PCs. Mainframe
techniques, such as cache memory sub¬
systems, have now become a common
item on PCs. Other mainframe tech¬
niques will also be applied to the PC, es¬
pecially in the area of I/O processing.

The challenge for all the PC silicon

continued

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236 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

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suppliers is to adopt mainframe tech¬
niques and recast them into fast and inex¬
pensive silicon. For example, cache con¬
trollers must be integrated into the other
elements of the PC system logic. At Chips
& Technologies, we have integrated both
the cache controller and the DRAM con¬
troller onto the same chip as the CPU
controller. Other companies (e.g., Intel)
have taken different approaches.

Cache architectures are clear indica¬
tors of the migration of the mainframe to
the desktop. The significance of the
cache is that, as we push PC architec¬
tures up into the 16-, 20-, and 25-MHz
performance ranges, there is a need for
more efficient memory management.

The key to this process is to deliver the
benefits of advanced computer architec¬
ture and still drive down costs. In con¬
templating the role of silicon in the main¬
frame approach to PC design, it is
important to realize that, unlike the
mainframe, power and size constraints
will require even greater emphasis on so¬
phisticated CMOS process technologies.

Most mainframes today derive much
of their speed and throughput from the
widespread use of emitter-coupled-logic
circuits. ECL is blazingly fast but im¬
poses a heavy penalty in terms of power
requirements and thermal dissipation.

The PC’s success is due to the fact that
manufacturers have managed to push
performance levels while also incorpo¬
rating direct cost improvements. Most
cost contributions have come from the
ability to do higher levels of integration
and performance in fewer CMOS chips.

Semiconductor technologies offer a
wide and almost unlimited range of per¬
formance. But in the PC world, it is a re¬
quirement to adopt the technology that
will continue to drive the relative dollars-
per-MIPS curve downward.

Process technology and semiconduc¬
tor chip design are the basis of the PC in¬
dustry. And there is a fair degree of com¬
monality across product lines ranging
from powerful server-type machines to
emerging notebook computers.

For example, the rush in the laptop
arena is to produce thinner and thinner
machines. To support that, you will see
laptops go in a couple of different direc¬
tions. One will be an improvement in
terms of thinness and weight; another
will be support of VGA-quality graphics
and 16 shades of gray and black-and-
white and, ultimately, support of 16-
color LCD with VGA resolution.

This class of machine requires ex¬
tremely high levels of integration: single¬
chip logic systems, single-chip graphics
controllers, single-chip power supply

controllers, and so on. Laptop manufac¬
turers are relentless in their pursuit of in¬
tegration, and the semiconductor indus¬
try is responding in kind.

Then there will appear, on the very
low end, techniques such as those com¬
bining several ICs in one package. This
advanced packaging technology is now
in demand to support what is being
called the “pocket computer.” In this
case, single-chip integration is insuffi¬
cient; advanced packaging techniques
are required.

Probably the two most significant
trends in the PC world are the drive for
higher levels of integration and the sud¬
den rise of alternative microprocessors.
The 8086 architecture has matured
through the 80286, the 80386, the
80386SX, and now the 80486. Today the
80286 continues to be the workhorse of
the single-task, single-user market and
will most likely be so for the foreseeable
future. The 80286 market will probably
not grow a lot but will continue to be a
high-volume segment of the overall mar¬
ket. At the slightly higher end, and par¬
ticularly in machines where people want
better communications capabilities, net¬
working, and coupling capabilities, I ex¬
pect to see the 80386SX as the highest-
volume microprocessor, followed closely
by the 80386, and that followed closely
by the 80486.

Currently, several RISC-based ma¬
chines are making a play to become a
factor in the PC world. Basically, these
microprocessor architectures are coming
out of the workstation world with the
ability either to do software emulation of
MS-DOS packages or to actually include
an Intel-architecture microprocessor in
the computer.

Although interesting, I don’t think
that these software-emulation capabili¬
ties will ever be successful as a commod¬
ity product. There are too many compati¬
bility problems in that approach, and
speed will remain an issue.

However, I do believe that some hybrid
machines will appear that can support
both Unix and DOS. It is likely this ap¬
proach will have some common hard¬
ware, but largely separate processors.

In the near to medium future, I think
that a number of different developments
will ultimately lead to a dramatic change
in PC architectures. One clear trend is
that just by pushing the clock speed in
some current microprocessors, 8-MIPS
machines based on 33-MHz 80386
microprocessors and 10-MIPS machines
based on 40-MHz 80386s become feasi¬
ble. Now that the 80486 has introduced a

continued

238 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

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S15 per month, or $2 per off-peak
hour, in the continental US**. For

One Phoenix Mill Lane
Peterborough, NH 03458
800-227-2983. In NH 603-924-7681

Circle 450 on Reader Service Card

INVENTING THE PC’S FUTURE

different microprocessor architecture
that allows almost a doubling of perfor¬
mance, I expect to see 80486 machines
that will support between 15 and 20
MIPS in the main processor.

However, one thing that will happen is
that the use of accelerators, floating¬
point processors, graphics processors,
and communications processors will in¬
crease. It should come as no surprise that
the coupling of all that silicon will result
in a machine that has 50 to 100 MIPS of

fully compatible processing power.

That is what I would expect to see hap¬
pen on the PC side. On the workstation
side, I think we're going to see RISC ar¬
chitectures that are inherently very fast,
powerful processors pushing up easily
into the 100-MIPS range. The interest¬
ing question to ask is, when will we hit
the wall in terms of pushing clock speeds?
In the case of the PC, somewhere in the
40-MHz range is probably getting close to
the top end of the spectrum.

((^EXPERTISE.

For document
typesetting and
formatting quality,
PCTj<X is the
difference between
average and expert.

It’s the next step
beyond standard
desktop publishing.

(T)EXPERT
OfPCTgX, TABLES
INFOWORLD said:

M ... No non-T^X-
based program has
such typographical
aesthetics... enorm¬
ously flexible... ”

And PC MAGAZINE
wrote: “(With PCTeX)
... you can achieve
incredible precision
in formatting text,
especially mathemat¬
ical expressions.”

(T) EXPERT
TYPE

Name

Gamma

Sine

Error

Bessel

Zeta

Definition

r X

r (z)= / t*“V*
Jo

sin(x) = -(e--e"“)

erf (z

)=j_ r e -*

’ V* Jo

i r

Jo{z) = — / cos(zsin0)
n Jo

c(«) = £>- (R»>1)

(T)EXPERT FORMULAS & MATH

For a free PCTgX
demo diskette,
product catalog and
information on a
configuration for
your system, call

415/388-8853.

Then give your
next job the
(t)expert touch.

PCTfX is a registered TM of Personal TfX, Inc
TfX is on Amencon Mathemotwal Society TM
Inquire about PTI distributorships Site licenses
available to qoolified organizations This od
was typeset using PC TfX and Bitstream fonts.

7/yY for PCs = Personal TpX, Inc .

12 Madrona Avenue
Mill Valley, CA 94941

PERSONAL

I N C

This scenario is likely to develop for
two reasons. The first problem concerns
the silicon technology and the sheer
complexity of designing and manufactur¬
ing the part. Submicron process technol¬
ogies are not trivial undertakings, and
the design methodology of advanced
semiconductor devices is becoming more
complex.

The second problem is that the indus¬
try is trying to build these super-PCs on
plain old cheap PC boards using as few
layers as possible. In the case of a main¬
frame product that runs at 60 or 70
MIPS, much of the design expertise is
devoted to issues such as special kinds of
terminations and special techniques used
to reduce ringing, radio frequency gen¬
eration, and other technical problems
that are related to extremely high-fre¬
quency electronics.

The upshot of this approach is that PC
board technology and current silicon
technology may limit the speed of PCs to
less than 50 MHz. A different architec¬
ture is needed to further increase the
productivity of the PC. A possible solu¬
tion is the approach being taken by some
current manufacturers of workstation ar¬
chitectures. These RISC-based ma¬
chines offer more MIPS than the Intel ar¬
chitecture can provide.

PCs with multiple processors could
appear as early as 1990. A true multi¬
processor architecture will dictate some
dramatic changes, especially in operat¬
ing systems. In the area of graphics, for
instance, there will be development and
integration into the PC of not just graph¬
ics processors, but accelerators and
graphics management chips as well.
These chips will be dedicated to support¬
ing performance and productivity in
those specific areas.

A major caveat in this scenario is com¬
patibility, which is pretty much taken for
granted today. The likely evolution of
graphics accelerators and other hardware
accelerators will once more raise com¬
patibility as an issue.

Compatibility was, and continues to
be, the foremost issue in the PC business;
users can’t reap the benefits of higher
performance or lower cost if they don’t
have compatibility. As performance is
enhanced, compatibility becomes an ar¬
chitectural issue. So far, the industry has
successfully adapted the architecture to
accommodate higher performance. ■

Gordon A. Campbell is president and
CEO of Chips & Technologies in San
Jose, California, a company he founded
in 1984 . He can be contacted on BIX c/o
“ editors . ”

240 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Circle 208 on Reader Service Card

EVTE

Product

Showcase

BUYER’S MART ■ PRODUCT SPOTS

■ BYTE BITS ■ MICRO PRODUCT CENTER

B Y T E IBM Special Edition • Fall 1989 241

-The Buyer’s Mart-

A Directory of Products and Services

THE BUYER’S MART is a monthly advertising section which enables readers
to easily locate suppliers by product category. As a unique feature, each
BUYER'S MART ad includes a Reader Service number to assist interested
readers in requesting information from participating advertisers.

RATES: lx—$525 3x-$500 6x-$475 12x-$425
Prepayment must accompany each insertion. VISA/MC Accepted.

AD FORMAT: Each ad will be designed and typeset by BYTE. Advertisers must

furnish typewritten copy. Ads can include headline (23 characters maximum),
descriptive text (250 characters is recommended, but up to 350 characters can
be accommodated), plus company name, address and telephone number Do
not send logos or camera-ready artwork.

DEADLINE: Ad copy is due approximately 2 months prior to issue date. For ex¬
ample: November issue closes on September 8. Send your copy and payment
to THE BUYER’S MART, BYTE Magazine, 1 Phoenix Mill Lane, Peterborough,
NH 03458. For more information call Brian Higgins at 603-924-3754.

ACCESSORIES

APPLICATION GENERATOR

BAR CODE

CUT RIBBON COSTS!

Re-ink your printer ribbons quickly and easily Do all
cartridge ribbons with just one inker! For crisp, black
professional print since 1982. \bu can choose from 3
models: Manual E-Zee Inker — $39.50

Electric E-Zee Inker — $94.50

Ink Master (Electric) — $189.00

1000s of satisfied users. Money-back guarantee.

BORG INDUSTRIES

525 MAIN ST., JANESVILLE. IA 50647

1-800-553-2404 Fax: 319-987-2251

PRODUCE APPLICATIONS $$

Now you can produce quality Applications and Reports
to your exact needs or customer requirements with ab¬
solutely no programming needed! MASTERMIND is
fast, simple, very easy to use. reliable and delivers plenty
of performance and lots of features. Why buy a shelf
full of software when all you need is MASTERMIND?
Call or write for brochure.

SlmuUNK Technology Corporation

15455 N. Greertway-Hayden Loop Rd., C-1

1-800-328-4566

BAR CODE READERS

For PC. XT. AT. & PS/2, all clones, and any RS-232
terminal. Acts like 2nd keyboard, bar codes read
as keyed data. With steel wand—$399. Top rating
in independent reviews. Works with DOS, Xenix,
Novell. Alloy, -ALL software. Lasers, magstripe, &
slot badge readers. 30-day $$ back.

Worthington Data Solutions

41 7-A ingalte St, Santa Cruz. CA 95060

(800) 345-4220 In CA: (408) 458-9938

Inquiry 576.

Inquiry 581.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

COMPANION AND EXTENDER

Place a keyboard and monitor up to 600' from your CPU
with EXTENDER and COMPANION products Keep a
second Kayboard/Monitor at the CPU with COM¬
PANION. Supports MDA, CGA, EGA. VGA, PS2. Uses
single cable.

Prices start at $149.00 tor EXTENDER and $219.00 for
COMPANION 25 ft. unit complete

CYBEX CORPORATION

2800-H Bob Wallace. Huntsville. AL 35805
205-534-0011 International Fax #205-830-1947

NATURAL LANGUAGE C LIBRARY

Increase your market share! Use JAKE to add a natural
language front end to your application. JAKE translates
English queries and commands into C function calls
and data structures. JAKE offers context-sensitive
semantic processing; interfaces easily; <64K mem.
JAKE $495. INTERACTIVE DEMO $10

ENGLISH KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS, INC.

5525 Scotts Wiley Dr #22, Scatts Wiley, CA 95066

(408) 438-6922

BAR CODE SOLUTIONS

Bar coding is so easy with our complete line of readers. Our
PC-Wand readers emulate your PC keyboard or ASCII ter¬
minal, and are carried around taking inventory, entering road
sales and docking time Our bar code label pnnting software
packages work with DOS and most matrix or laser pnnters

We also seli pre printed labels Our hardware can work with
nearly every computer in the world.

International Technologies & Systems Corp.

635-C North Berry St.. Brea, CA 92621

(714)990-1880 FAX: (714) 990-2503 TLX 6502824734 MCI

Inquiry 577.

Inquiry 582.

Inquiry 583.

FREE CATALOG

A complete source tor computer supplies at low prce*. r».m Semce
Can, write or circte Inquiry card tor a FREE CATALOG
U» your VISA, MC or OOO to order me tollowtng bulk diskettes

5.25" DS/DD (Min 50) 26'
5.25" DS/HD (Min 50) 62'
3.5" DS/DD (Min 30) 89'

GAAN COMPUTER SUPPLIES

186 B East Sunnyoaks Awe . Campbell, CA 95008
(BOO) 523*1238, In Calif. (408) 370-8747

Inquiry 578.

BAR CODE

PRINT BAR CODES/BIG TEXT
FROM YOUR PROGRAM

Add bar codes and big graphics characters to your pro¬
gram. Print from ANY MS-DOS language. Bar codes:
UPC. EAN, 2 of 5. MSI, Code 39. Epson. Okl, IBM dot
matrix text up to '/a". LaserJet up to 2*. Font cartridges
not required $179-$239 30-day $$ back

Worthington Data Solutions

417A lr>gls Si.. Santa Cruz. CA 95060

(800) 345-4220 In CA: (408) 458-9938

BAR CODE SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS

ISO has software solutions that allow you to use bar
codes for most anything. Like identifying products.
Labeling packages. Or even managing assets and
paperwork. Ybu’ll be able to speed and simplify data
collection. Track products dock-to-stock Streamline in¬
ventory control. And more.

Integrated Software Design, Inc.

171 Forbes Blvd.. Mansfield, MA 02048
TEL: (508) 339-4928 FAX: (508) 339-2257

€>1989 intogmied Software Design. Inc

Inquiry 584.

REFILL LASER PRINTER & COPIER CARTRIDGES

Don't throw away trial used laser printer or copier cartridge. Refill

It and save over 75%. It's easy. For uaa with Canon EP 4 EPS car¬
tridges. HP LaserJet A LaserJet II. Apple LaserWriter & LaserWriter

II, Canon LPB, FAX. and many others. Also kits tor Canon Copiers.
We hove colors for laser printers. Dealers Welcome VISA/MC
COMPLETE REFILL KIT $2995

Includes 1oner, felt pad, and instructions

VIDEO TAPE PROGRAM $45.00

Shows disassembly, cleaning, and remanulactum

MORACK INC.

9132 Windsor Dr . Palos Hills. IL 60465 (800) 837-9696

For order or mtormaiion (706) 598-0560 FAX: (708) 598-9203

PORTABLE READER

Battery-operated, handheld reader with 64K static RAM.
2x16 LCD display. 32-key keyboard, Real-Time-Clock.
Wand or laser scanner. Program prompts and data
checking through its own keyboard. Easy data transfer
by RS-232 port or PC. PS/2 keyboard. Doubles as On-
Line Reader 30-day $$ back.

Worthington Data Solutions

417A Ingalls St. Santa Cruz, CA 95060

(800) 345-4220 In CA: (408) 458-9938

PC BAR CODE SPECIALISTS

Bar code readers designed for fast, reliable, cost
effective data entry. Looks just like keyboard data!
Choose from stainless steel wand or laser interface.
Also, powerful Bar Code and Text printing software.
Great warranty. Dealer inquiries welcome.

Seagull Scientific Systems

15127 N.E. 24th. Suite 33a Redmond. WA 98052

206-451-8966

Inquiry 579.

HP LASERJET II

M - E • M • 0 • R • Y

1MB-2MB-4MB MEMORY EXPANSION BOARDS

Save 50%-60%

2-YEAR WARRANTY

STARION CORPORATION

(800) 782-8297 CA: (714) 750-2627

PRINT BAR CODES AND BIG TEXT

On EPSON. IBM. OKI dot matrix or LaserJet. Flexible design
on one easy screen. Any format/size. Up to 120 fiekis/labei

13 text sizes to r-readable at 50' A1AG. MiL-STD, 2 of 5,128
UPC/EAN, Code 39. Fi'e Input & Scanned logos/symbols
(PCX)—$279. Other programs from $49. 30-day $$ back.

Worthington Data Solutions

417-A Ingalls Si, Santa Cruz, CA 95060

(800) 345-4220 In CA: (408) 458-9938

300 Songs A Sound Effects

The EwTR-telner contains by far trie biggest & best collection on
the market for DOS machines. Play like a jukebox through your PC
speaker or use selections in your own programs.

No royalties required—source code Included.

An Excellent Gift!

172-pg. manual. 525* or 35' disks. BASIC 2.0 or later req'd.
Dealer inquiries welcome. $2995 ($350 US s&h) mc/visamo.

(800) 727-4140-Money Back Guarantee

P« Music Software, 1511 48th St., Boulder CO 80303 (303) 440-4140

Inquiry 580. Inquiry 585.

242 Fall 1989 •

BYTE IBM Special Edition

The Buyer’s Mart

BBS/PUBLIC DOMAIN

MedCom BBS

Usa your modem to cdll

800/445-4BBS (800/445-4227)

81 tine* 30N1

Group & private chat. Many games, including the new muFti-
playnr, ras-action fujl-octer graphics & sound. "Flash AHadir
Irofri Gelacticomml Ghfi ss/CheckersTQifiaNa E-Mail, lOODs
□I d/I. message base, online news & entertain me HE. Fme lime
& downleads.

6312 E Santa Ana Cyn Rd #361. Anaheim, CA 92307
_ Voice {714) 9&6-&9S9 _

C-UTILITIES

SCREENLIB" IS HERE!

Screen Lib" is a quaJify screen managemeni library
designed far applications programmers who warn a pon-
sisteni high-quality user interface with a minimum of
effon. Comes with camptote source Code in portable
C at no extra charge! Our special inlmductory price of
669.95 wifi expire soon, so ddnT delay. For laslesl aer-
vice, call wilh VlSWMC,

Business Computer Services, Inc.

lEKJQ South Roiwrlwn Blvd . Suite 206. Los Angles CA 9003S

Telephone: (213) 836-5026 Fax: (213) 836-4723

Inquiry 586.

Inquiry 587

Inquiry £88.

CD-ROM Publishing Services

Complete CD-ROM publishing sendees Including custom soft¬
ware interfaca. Reasonable raise, lael turnaround. Call far
quote.

Tiltes published: Frwd/Analyst, LconfSiatii, Conguteteis,
AgrlTStats

Hopkins Technology

CD-ROM Publisher
421 Hazel Lana
Hopkins, MM 55343-71T7

{612} 931-9376 CIS 74017,614

Inquiry 589.

CD WORM OULET

C$11 BBS and FAX 716-854-3076

Widest SMaeUon for PC 1 :s and MAC'S
Microsoft Programmer's

Library 4 Pry 9SQ ($W PflCH 4 SBC .WO

PC SJGS DRV . 850, CD-ROM DRV fn3rt} .500.

BKSHLF LW DRV . . . . J9S.

For XT XT's.. 3S5 s lyr: Pans a Libor Free

RBBS in a Box—Be- a Sysop in 15 min.

Portables available with CCFROM DRVS
MC/ViaaWmaK/COD While Supplies Last!

Jason Enterprises

516 Pino St , Behalf NY Hate. CALL 71H52-67tt

Inquiry 590.

CD-ROM DATA/DISK CONVERSION

CD-ROM Developer's Let

Multimedia, produdion resource lor Mac & PC developers &
managers. Proven design, manegarneni, data prep, program^
ming, pnemaslering, and manufacturing techniques 4 specs
from IB leading companies. Demos o) off-the-shedl tools lor
imaging, audio, animation [Mabl. Real aoplrcations using
Media—Mixer source loots, CD-ROM XA PC or Mac $795;
Transportable $645. Visa Of MasterCard.

Software Mart, Inc.

4131 Spicwmd Springs Road 1-3* Austin, TX 7S759

_ 512-346-7887 _

Inquiry 591

COMPUTER INSURANCE

INSURES YOUR COMPUTER

SAFEWWHE provides lull replacement erf hardware,
media and purchased software. As little as $39 a
year provides comprehensive coverage. Blanket
coverage.; no list at equipment needed. One call
does It at! Call 8 am-10 pm ET. (Sat. 9 to 5)

TOLL FREE 1-800-848-3469

{Local 014-262-0659)

SAFEWftRE, The Insurance Agency Inc.

Inquiry 592;

DISK CONVERSIONS

Media transfer to or from: ISM, Xerox, DEG, Wang,
Lanier, CPT, Micom, NBI, CT, Exxon, WRDPLEX
alsaWR WS, MS/WRD, DW4, MM. Samna. DEC
DX, MAS 11, XeroxYrfriler, ASCII.

FREE TEST CONVERSION

CONVERSION SPECIALISTS

531 Main Si., Ste. 835, El Segundo, CA 90245

(213) 545-6551 (213) 322-6319

Inquiry 597,

DISK INTERCHANGE
SERVICE COMPANY

DISC specializes in transferring files between Incom¬
patible disk formats, and between disk and 9-iraqk tape.

* Dedicated Word Processors

* Mini, Micro & Mainframe Computers

* 9-Track Tape (800. 1600 and 6250 BPI)

- MSDOS, CPfM, UNIX. DOS, PRQOOS, TSX+. RT11
2 Park Drive * Westford, MA 01886

_ (508) 692-0050 _

Inquiry 598.

YOUR SALES MESSAGE

about l he special computer product or service
that you provide belongs in print,

THE BUYER’S MART

can help you reach computer professionals and
produce valuable Inquiries for your company I
Calf Brian Higgins for more information

603-924-3754

Inquiry 593.

COMPUTERS & PRINTERS

LAPTOPS *

APPLE * IBM

COMPAQ SLT

IBM PS2

ZENITH

MACINTOSH

SHARP

LASERWRITER

TOSHIBA

IMAGEWFHTER

NEC

HP LASERJET

PLOTTERS

EPSON

HARD DRIVES

FAX MACHINES

Call UCC £13-921-8900 For Prices

13173a E. Artesla Blvd. 150, Cerritos, CA M701

Fax 213-992-0631

International Otrtere Welcome

Inquiry 594.

CROSS ASSEMBLERS

CROSS ASSEMBLERS/SIMULATORS

Brand new fuH-funrikti simulator tor the flTQfi controller suooDrtina ALL

MOOES d Interrupts plus the HSI. HSO. Aft and Serial tealures, with tif

disassembler; |ust S300 Dur superti amutetors tor the 0051, and 0085

seB tor 120). arm Itiose tor Hie 0052 and im Itx SZ5U each

Our lira at crass assemtileis Itr afl ataM larval CPUs are also toil PC koti-

paiibte andsef tor SUM each. Mfe after discdunbtor simulatof ptus assemble

pactoaes

Lear Com Company

2449 Kipling StJSte. 2M, Lakewood. CO 00215

303-232-2226

Inquiry 595.

BUY YOUR OWN
CONVERSION SYSTEMI

With nearly a decade of experience In data conversion,
you can work with the industry leader in 34rack tape, car¬
tridge tape and diskette conversion systems. Enjoy the
convenience of your own conversion system. Call today
in discuss your application!

Flagstaff Engineering

1120 Kaibab Lang, Flagstaff. AZ 66001

(602} 779-3341

MasterCard - Visa - American Exproffs Accepted

Inquiry 599,

lOx FASTER EASIER TO USE
IBM PC HP FILE COPY

Update version uses window: Call for free demof IBM
PC to HP file Copy ellows IBM PCs, PS£, compatibles
to interchange files with Hewlett-Packard Series. 70, 8ft
20ft 300, 1000, 9000s

Oswego Software 312/554-3567

Box 310 FAX 312/554-3573

Oswego, IL 60543 Telex S58-757

Inquiry 600-

CONVERSION SERVICES

Convert any 9-track magnetic tape to or from over
2000 formate including 3V* a , 5iv; 8' disk formate 5
word processors, Diskto-disk conversions also
avaflabla Call for more info, Introdudog OCR Searv
ning Services.

Pivar Computing Services, Inc.

165 Artington Hgts. Rd., Dept #B
Buffalo Grove, IL 60089 (800) Hi-Pivar

CROSS ASSEMBLERS

Macros, PC Compatible, Relocatable, Condi¬
tionals, Fast, Reliable . from $150

also: Disassemblers
EPROM Programmer Board

MICROCOMPUTER TOOLS CO.
Phone (800) 443-0779

in CA {415) 825-4200

912 Hastings Dr., Concord, CA 94518

Inquiry 596.

IDATABASE MGMT. SYSTEMS

IBM 5 YEARS BEHINDQ!

T?w Hvyohtkrnmy PC Dirntront DetMins Mflrugemeflf System

RECORD-TRANS

Features: The first and only one on the market with multiple
tocatiors Data Base Management.

Only $250 per copy ter sigrufieam tin line savings. Requires
MS-DOS 30 or higher; 612KB HAM and Hayes compatible
modem.

Database & Datacom Solutions

3611 a Harbor 91*)., Suite 215b Santa Ana, CA 92704
MGWS4 [714) 434-1000

3« our ad on page 176

Inquiry 601.

BYTE IBM Special Edition *

Fall 1989 243

The Buyer’s Mart-

DEMOS/TUTORIALS

ENTERTAINMENT

GRAPHICS

INSTANT REPLAY III

Build Demos* Tutorials* Prototypes, Presentations. Music*
Timed Keyboard Macros, and Menu Systems Includes
Screen Mater. Keygrote/Tlme Editor, program M&T 1 CH 12 &,
and Animator Reed Grsa# Rariew^ Simply the BEST Mol
copy protected Mo royalties 60-day satisfaction money-
bock guarc IBM and Com path. $149.95 U.S.Chk/Cr. Crd.
Demo Diskette $5.00.

NOSTRADAMUS, INC.

PO Box 9252

Salt Lairs City Utah 84103 (801) 272-0671

* * * CRYPTO * * *

* Challenging, Educational, and Entertaining

■ Hundreds of Famous Quotations to Decipher

* Send and Recerve Secret Messages

* Select Level ol Difficulty, Edit. Customize

* Enhances Spelling, Typing and Vocabulary

■ Ideal Gift for All Ages. User Friendly.

* Only $19.95 {GA resident add 5%)

P, VALANDANI, INC.

95 Church St. #2309, Us Gate* CA 95032

(408) 335-6372

35mm SLIDES — In 24 Hours

We transform your POGraphics files into lull-color high-
resolution, 35mm slides and ship within £4 hours. Har¬
vard, Pixie, Lotus. Freelance, and others supported.
Files accepted by modem. Free Federa l Express on all
orders of 20+ slides. Only $B per slide. Call for literature
or circle reader service number shown below,

Accent Presentations, Inc.

990 Highland bme. Ste 202, RO. Ben 1303, Strips Beach CA 92075

1-800-22 2-2 592

Inquiry 602.

DISASSEMBLERS

Inquiry 606.

inquiry 614.

80x86 .EXE/.COM to .ASM

■ Accurately rewnstrucl, study 4 modify |64K>] programs wiih
a minimum of input or editing d output,

• Assembly language output a MASM 5j<-compalibl0.

■ Eihauslive flow4race distinguishes code from date

* Best formate tor each Commented BIDS caHs/D05 (unc¬
tions. SffiMElWPFlOCASlher vital paendD-ops.

PC-DISnDATa (5'A" disk & manual) $165

PRO/AM SOFTWARE

229 Cardigan Road, Canrfervilta, OH 45459
<513) 435-44B0 (9 A,M^5 PM, E5T M-F)

NEMESIS” Go Master 11

Go, a game of strategic elegance, has been a way ol
life in Ihe Orient for over four thousand years. Many con¬
sider Go to be the secret of the Japanese business¬
man's success “iWififf chess is a game of war, Go is
a game of market sharB^Prasident of Nikko Hotels).

'll you ere Interested In Go, buy this program,"

Game Of the Month J. Fournelte BYTE 7797

Toyogo, Inc, The Leader in Computer Go.

70 Bedford St. #34-Y, Lexington, MA 02173, (517) 861-048B

YOUR SALES MESSAGE

about the special computer product or service
that you provide belongs in print.

THE BUYER’S MART

can help you reach computer professionals and
produce valuable inquiries for your company]

Cali Brian Higgins for more information

603-924-3754

Inquiry 603.

Inquiry 609.

Inquiry 615.

FAMILY GENEOLOGY

SOFT-X-PLORE

Sea "BYTE's May '88 issue pg. 7&" Disassemble 500
kb (*) program at lOjOGOtonin. (') in any fits, ROM/RAM
memory up to 80386 Instruction set O- SOFTOt-plone:

* is lor MS/DQS 2.0+ systems

■ uses 20 algorithms and seven passes ('J

# only $99.35 plus S$H w/30-day guarantee.

To ardor call (&H)| 44M6S6 or into (293) 953-0236

Or write: RJSWANTEK INC

ITS Brookside Rd., Newington, CT 06111
' best on the market MC/vlSA accepted

AUTOBIOGRAPHY WRITER SYSTEM

Introducing Powerful Penonal Software

CREATE YOUR AUTOBIOGRAPHY

« Reaml to legacy of »ur wpwsces k* Mire generato r m your fpiW
< Structured 1rame*orl; and prompting helps no craate complete argsrnta-
epnal cqrtiniJty—twl abo allow yeel faKfciDty * Con^e (ladsk ejaemj
Grows wnh ytkj without tha wed to add nsw schware (SOS based system!

- Pmi as. many eutobiograiiufls as you wtsh. Multiple users—(each tw
up to 300ft sap® plus} ■ Features special ge-nectocy setten

CALL at WRITE fur man details and a Fft£L brochure

KIDD & KIDD INC.

RO Box 770. Oneida, tn 37041

(615 i 509-4095

RAINDROP™

FAST, compact PrtScrn Utility for and users AND
developers. Hardcopy as fast as 10 secs. Average binary
srze - 6 kbyte, 12 video graphs standards. Scale, rotate,
colori ze and more. ‘CALL! tram user-written programs.
Complete 9- & 24-pin dot-matrix, inkjet, and Isserjet
library 139-95+S3 sfh

RAINBOW TECHNOLOGIES

BIOS St. David CL, Springs, VA 23153

(703) 440-0064

Inquiry 604,

Inquiry 610,

Inquiry 616.

DISK DRIVES

FLOW CHARTS

HARD DRIVE REPAIR

PS/2 DRIVES FOR PCs ATs

CompatiKit/PC. $2T9

CompatiKit/AT . $219

Built-in floppy control lers^-no problem.
Supports multiple drives and formats. Lets your
computer use IBM P$i2 1.4M diskettes plus more/
Call for further Information or to place an order
VtSA/MQCO&CHECK,

Micro Solutions Computer Products

132 W. PnCOln Hwy, D$Ka*b 1L 6011 5 015/756-3411

Sea out ad on page 4B.

Flow Charting 11+

Fbr IBM and compatibles ll will amazs you with its
speed, power arid simplicity. 26 standard shapes with
ever 126 sizes — ID text fonts — 4 line styles. Place
text, lines and shapes anywhere on your chart. For only
$229 you'll never draw another chart by hand.

Patton & Patton

B1 Great Oaks Blvd., San Jose, CA 95419

1 -800-525-0082 Ext. 42 (Outside CA)
403-629-5376 Ext. 42 (CA/Int'fJ

See our ad on page 156

HARD DRIVE REPAIR

WE WILL REPAIR YOUR HARO DRIVE AT A
FRACTION OF THE COST OF REPLACING IT.
FAST TURNAROUND!!! CALL FOR DETAILS.

H fit W micro, inc.

52S-C FOREST PARKWAY

FOREST PARK, GA 30050

(404) 366-1600

See our ad on page IS,

Inquiry 605.

Inquiry 611,

Inquiry 617.

EDUCATIONAL

IS and 32 BIT MICROS

EDUCATIONAL TRAINING SYSTEMS in a notebook
with power supply — tor Ihe Motorola 60000/66020/
easel, TMS32010 DSR Intel BO0SBOB7 A/D-O/A Con¬
vertors, cross assemblers, serial Interfaces With soft¬
ware, complete systems, documentation, schematic,
operating system, cables. Starting Prices — S230 j90

Phone URDA, Inc.

1-800-338-0517

WINDOWS FLOWCHARTER $79

RFFlow is a professional drawing tool for flowcharts

8 org charts (requires Microsoft 6 Windows), 75
shapes automatically adjust in size. Move, copy,
delete groups ol objects 7 levels of zoom. Move
flowcharts to other applications via the Clipboard.
Supports Windows printers, plotters, and cartridge
or soft fonts. Call for free irial disk.

RFF ELECTRONICS

1053 Banyan Count, Loveland. CO £££3S
(303) 663-6767

DISK DRIVE REPAIR

DATA RECOVERY

SALES of new, remanutactured and
removable disk drives

FULL TECHNICAL SUPPORT

ROTATING MEMORY SERVICE

1506 Deli Avenue, Ccmpbeti, G4 95006
(408) 870-3113

We buy used drives good or bad

See our ad on p age 33

Inquiry 606.

Inquiry 612.

Inquiry 618.

ENGINEERING/STATISTICS

FOREIGN LANGUAGES

HARDWARE

Free Slat Call

In deplh 30-page catalog illustrates software programs
tot SPC and Engineering applicalions tor IBM end
Macintosh. Tool kits include Engineering. Process Cen¬
tral Chari. Biomedical Research Chart, and Experimen¬
tal Design. Catalog explains features, applications, and
shows sample printouts. Call or write:

Sol-Ware Tools

PO. Box 0751, Boise. Idaho S37D7
208/343-1437 Ffcx #208-336-2636

LEARN SPANISH! LEARN JAPANESE!

A new. easy way to learn a foreign language. Complete in¬
teractive [earning environment with pop-up dictionary,
hypeflexl language reference, Hnd lull mouse support. Con¬
versational emphasis. IBM compaiHjte. Each course Includes
disks, manual, and pronu ncialkm tape. Call lor Demo disk
or free brochure!

Traveler’s Guild

315 W, Washington Si Dep! 6Y9, Marquette, Ml 49S55
24-hoor order desk: (306) 228-5030

Digital Imaging System

Digital Imaging camponenl system turns your IBM 9 - PC/AT*
or compatible into a high-performance electronic Imaging
workstation Components include B/W video camera, digitiser
& display boards* 16mm lens, 12" video monitor, S, menu-
driven software. Software capabilities include histogram plot-
ling. edge enhancement, filters A mure,

D-CAU m — £2£9S.QQ

General Imaging Dorp.

FJQ. Sox 13455. Gainesville, FL 32604

Phone (SO 4 } 378-0047

Inquiry 613.

Inquiry 619.

Inquiry 607.

244 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

The Buyer’s Mart

HARDWARE/ADD-ONS

The World* First Highest Density Module!

‘ 16 Meg on the smallest surface

• Organization: 2x1024Kx9 bit

• Package: OIL 64 pin Jedec-Standard

• Technology CMOS, hybrid. 18xHMSll00JP-10

• Compatibility: With two Hitachi HB56A 19-10

• Suitable for extension of basic memory

• Engineers take notice This product can be
manufactured on large scale

For more irxtonneliran please write or catt:

TermoTYol Corp.

1888 Century Park East, Sulla 1900, LA. CA 90067
Tel: 213-284-3242

Inquiry 620.

HARDWARE/COPROCESSOR

SC/FOX”PARALLEL COPROCESSOR

PC/XTW7386 plug-in board with Forth software 10 MIPS opera¬
tion, uo to 50 MIPS burst 64K to 1M bylo memory. Uses Harris
RTX 2000' RISC real-time CPU with 1-cyclo multiply. 1-cycle
14-priority interrupts, two 256-word stacks, three 16-bit
timerfcounter 3 ,16-bit Wo bus Weal for real-time control, signal
and image processing, and multiple board operation From
$2,295

Optional SC/FOX Single Board Computer version for stand¬
alone operation Eurocard size with software, starting at
$1,495.

SILICON COMPOSERS, INC. (4is> 322-8763

210 California A*e„ Suite K. Palo Alto, CA 94306

Inquiry 621.

Inquiry 622.

LAPTOP COMPUTERS

Laptop Savings

Laptops: Toshiba • Zenith • Nec • Sharp
• Epson • Mitsubishi • Compaq
Also Laptop Accessories: Modems, Fax Modems.
External Drives, Portable Printers, Memory, Key
Pads, Hard Drives, Batteries, and Auto Adapters.

Computer Options Unlimited

12 Maiden Lane, Bound Brook, NJ 08605
Phone: 201-469-7678 (Fax: 201-469-7544)
Hours: 9am/10pm 7 days Worldwide sales

Inquiry 623.

LAPTOP PERIPHERALS

BAR CODE READER FOR LAPTOPS

Smart Pent is a powerful high resolution bar code
reader with built-in decoding circuitry for quick data
entry. Utilized with a laptop computer, Smart Penl
Is ideal for portable order entry and data collection
systems. The unit directly connects into any RS232
port, and it includes an on/off switch to minimize
power consumption.

INTERNATIONAL BAR CODES, INC.

160 Oak Street, Glastonbury, Connecticut 06033

(203) 659-9660 Fax (203) 657-3860

Inquiry 624.

LASER FONTS

9000 FONTS FOR 1C EACH

DOWNSCALE font generator is the fastest,
easiest, and cheapest source of soft fonts for
your HP LaserJet. Make portrait, landscape, ex¬
panded or condensed fonts from 2 to 120
points. 3 styles $25, 10 styles $50. 21 styles
$90. Scaling software included. VISA/MC

TRIONUM, I NO.

RO. Box 305, Kendall Sq., Cambridge. MA 02142

1-flOO-TRIONUM

MAILING LIST PROGRAMS

POSTAL BARCODE PRINTING

P-Bar Plus is the only IBM compatible software
to use a standard 9-pin printer to print Postal Bar¬
codes on envelopes and labels. 17 million record
capacity. Realtime duplicate search. Notes. Im¬
port/export ASCII text. Free conversion to ZIP+4.
Many more features to save on postage, postal pro¬
cessing time and losses from misplaced mail. Only
$89.95. V/MC accepted

T-Lan Systems

_ (207) 397-5511 _

Inquiry 626.

MEMORY BOARDS

MEMORY EXPANSION

Intel Above Boards w/LIM 4.0
8 MHz PC/ATs
IBM, Compaq, Zenith etc.

1MB $299.00

2MB $399.00

10 + MHz ATs
1MB $499.00

Prices subject to change

COUNTERTRADE (303) 530-5433

Inquiry 627.

MEMORY CHIPS

41256-15-12-10

Call

51000 (1 Meg)

Call

4164-15

Call

51258 for Compaq 386 Call

4164-12

Call

8067-3-2

Call

41128 Piggy Back tor AT

Call

80287-6-8-10

Call

41464-12 (64Kx4)

Call

80387

Call

414256 (2S6Kx4)

Call

NEC-V-20-8

Call

2764,27128.27256.27512

Call

Mouse

Call

Prices subject to change

ESSKAY

718-353-3353

Inquiry 628.

MEMORY PRODUCTS

256K

LOW LOW PRICES

DRAM 256x8 SIM/SIP

1 Meg

DRAM 1 Megx9 SIM/SIP

256x9

SIM/SIP 1 Megx8 SIM/SIP

All Speeds

INTEL

8087 - 80287 - 80387

All MHz

R & R Electronics
1-800-736-3644

Inquiry 629.

MISCELLANEOUS

S.oliclt Y.our C.ongress

Itching to have everyone in your dub send a letter to
every Republican Senator on the Budget committee and
then print a phone list to call them all personally? S.Y.C.
comes with the name. Washington address, phone,
committees and note area for the entire 101st Congress.
Print 1 to 100.000 envelopes or labels at a clip. Only
$49.95 gives you the volume to be heard. V/MC ac¬
cepted.

T-Lan Systems

_ (207) 397-5511 _

Inquiry 630.

MOTHER BOARDS

YOUR SALES MESSAGE

about the special computer product or service
that you provide belongs in print.

THE BUYER’S MART

can help you reach computer professionals and
produce valuable inquiries for your company!

Call Brian Higgins for more information

603-924-3754

NETWORKING

NETWORK BUSINESS SYSTEMS

Keycard Eliminator. $99.

D C B Eliminator. $99.

ELS Utilities. S59.

Netcrack (lose password?) $99.

Getdisk (get BIOS drives) $59.

BIOS Tools (patch drive tbls). $99.

NETWORK BUSINESS SYSTEMS

1215 Woodhollow Drive, Suite 1104. Houston. TX 77057
_ ( 713 ) 783-4457 _

Inquiry 632.

NEURAL NETWORKS

“STATE OF THE ART

I recommend BrainMaker without reservation.’’ Steve
Gibson. INFOWORLD. "An ideal tool for learning this
technology" Barry Simon, PC Mag.

Let us help you solve:

• Stock Forecasting • Data £ Business Analysis • Video
Recognition & OCR • Signal Analysis
10 times faster than any other neural net!!!

California Scientific Software

(60 E. Montecito #E, Sierra Madre. CA 91024

(818) 355-1094 $195 IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2

Inquiry 633.

PROGRAMMER S TOOLS

LAN Application Development

NPPC: High performance library routines callable from
C and Assembler. High level interface permits rapid
development of peer-to-peer, dient&erver, or multi-server
NetBIOS applications under DOS. Synchronous or
Asynchronous message control. Compact Code. Source
Avail. No Royalty. NPPC $495

Applied Software Technology

PO Box 397. Dpt. N, Los Gatos, CA 95031

(800) 678-1111 ext. N1

Inquiry 634.

HYPERINTERFACE™

Menu Creator" 1 — A program generator for menu-
driven user interface. Excellent for complex menu
systems. $99.95. Advanced Library — Extended
capability for data entry and advanced text-display con¬
trol from your programs. $99.95, FORTRAN, Pascal, C,
BASIC supported. HYPERMATH” - An application of
Menu Creator' and the Advanced Library. FREE
Avanpro Corp.

P.O Box 969, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272

_ (213) 454-3866 _

Inquiry 635.

Bsupport for Btrieve

The "Norton Utilities" lor Btrieve users.

Bedit: DISPLAY, UPDATE. COPY, and DELETE.

EXPORT SDF to dBASE & LOTUS. RECOVER damaged files.
Edlt/tnsert using Data Dictionary.

Bbug: TSR Btrieve debugger Displays into in pop-up window.
Brun: BUTIL replacement with Run-Time and C source.
Bedit/Bbug: $120 Brun: $100. VISA/MC/COD7PO

800/359-2721 FAX: 517/887-2366
Information Architects, Inc.

P.O. Box 4184, East Lansing. Ml 48826-4184

Inquiry 636.

ROM BIOS BLUES?

The AWARD BIOS will Update your PC/XT,
PC/AT or 386 to support:

• Enhanced Keyboards

• 1.44Mb 3.5” Floppies

• Large Hard Drives
1-800-423-3400 or (412) 782-0384

KOMPUTERWERK, INC.

851 Parkview Blvd., Pittsburgh, PA 15215

Inquiry 625.

Inquiry 631.

Inquiry 637.

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Fall 1989 245

The Buyer’s Mart

PROGRAMMER S TOOLS

TURBO PLUS $149.95

Programming tools tor use with Tbrbo Pesos! S O A 55
Screen Pointer, Code Generator, I/O Fields. Dynamic
Menus, Programming On if Libraries, OOP Support, and
Sample Programs included. All routfrws worfr in both lext
and graphics modesl 6&day money-back guarantee!
Demo Disk avail, For IBM and compatibles

Nostradamus Inc.

PO Box 3252. Sait Luka City, UT &4 tO±0?52

(SOI) 2724671

OBJECTIVE-C 4A OS/2

Workstation-Glass Objed-Ortenled Technology on OS/2!

For P&2 M5Q and up, wffiMB RAM, 20MB HD, 0&2 1.1
& MS C 5,1.

Includes — Obfecfevs-C Compiler, Rurrtime Library and
ICpaJdOi

£495 - 30-Day Money-Back
VfSA/MC/AMEX/Gheck

THE STEPST0N E CORPORATION

75 Glen Road. Sandy Hook, CT 06402

(000) 289-6253 (203) 426-1875

Inquiry 638.

Inquiry 644,

PUBLIC DOMAIN

FREE BUYER’S GUIDE

Programmer's Connection is an independent dealer
representing more than 450 manufacturers wilh over
1000 software products tor IBM personal computers and
compatibles. We have serviced the professional pro¬
grammer since 1964 by offering sound advice and tow
prices. Call or write today la receive your FREE com¬
prehensive Buyer's Guide.

Programmer's Connection US 800-336-1166

7249 Whipple Am NW Canada 600-225-1166

Norih Canton, oh 44720 InternnltonELl 210-494-3781

$3.00 SOFTWARE FOR IBM PC

Hundreds to choose from, word processors,
databases, spreadsheets, games, kjtio, communica¬
tions, business, music, bible, art, education,
language and useful utilities lor making your com¬
puter easier to learn. Most programs have documen¬
tation on the disk.

Free 12 5-page catalog,

BEST BITS & BYTES

RO Box B245 Dept-B \tar* Nl^e, CA 91409

in CA: faia} 764-esoa bod-Z45-bytE

Inquiry 639.

Inquiry 645.

INSTANT TEXT SCREENS

* Assembly Language programming for menus/text
screens is tedious. time consuming work—RIGHT?

* SCREEN ASSEMBLER lets you design screens In¬
teractively. then generates ASM source code callable
from your roicrosoft C or ASM program.

* Only $4&,Q0—Ybur trims Is worth it!

Soft Spoken Enterprises

19801 Nordhofl Street. Northridge. CA 91324

$1 per DISK Sale

20 TOP IBM PC PD/SW DISKS
(360K) ONLY $20 +$3 S&H

OubeCalc, EDFtAW, AuloMenu, Math Tutor, PC-
DOS Help, Baker’s Dozen, Languages, EZ-Form,
PC Slyle, RackDisk. POSlock, KldGames, Be^:
Games, Home Inventory, PC-Outline, Form Letters,
ImagePrlrtt. SideWrlter, PC-Prompt, Best Utilities.
Bright Futures Incorporated

TO. Bm 103a Fail Windsor, CT MOSS

FREE CATALOG {$1.50 per disk)

Inquiry 640.

Inquiry 646.

*C’ DOCUMENTATION TOOLS

* C-CALL £59 Creates graphic-toe of calterfcalled structures,
and lllos-vs-procedura lable-of-contents

* C-HDR £59 CrwluhnurtatapditlH headers tor each pro¬
cedure snowing callerroslfad and identifiers

* C-LlST £30 List, art ion-diagram. reformat programs

* C-HEF $49 Loc&tfjldbablparem eier cross retorente

* SPECIAL $149 All 4 plus integrated C-D0C version

SOFTWARE BLACKSMITHS INC.

6064 St. Ives Way, Mississauga, ONT Canada L5N-4M1

(416) AS0-4466

FREE CATALOG

PUBLIC DOMAIN/SHAREWARE

* 400 IBM PC 4 compatibles disks -
200 Amiga disks * 125 Atari ST disks

PC dttfca as low as $1,26 Bach. Amiga $ ST as low os $160
twchP Rem or buy. Free shipping! Calf toll free, write or prote
reader service for FREE BIG CATALOG with full deacrtfUlortv
specify computer—46-hr, turrmimiiidf

Computer Solutions

PO. Bos? 354—Dept, a Mason, Michigan 40854

1-800-874-9375 (M-F 10-6 EST) 1^517-628-2843

Inquiry 641.

Inquiry 647.

NETWORK CONTROL LIBRARIES

NETBIOS ROUTINES allows access to IcmHmI net¬
work functions. Name, session & datagram routines.
Wail and no-wait options. £199

NETWORK MASTER provides access to Netware in¬
terna! lunctions. Complete control of your network
from your compiled programs, $299.

Starlight Software

RO. Box 109a Wheeling, IL 60090

(3T2) 394-0622

FREE CATALOG

$1 IBM SOFTWARE

For your free 32-page Master Edition catalog
featuring the best of IBM Shareware from just
$1 each, cat! or write today!

1 -800-338-2118

SOFSOURCE

Box 62fl ( East Lansing, Ml 48826

Inquiry 642.

Inquiry 648,

REMOVABLE HARD DISKS

OBJECTIVE-C 4.0 MS-DOS

Object-Oriented Language used by over SCO companies
Now on affordable hardware! For FC-AfT, P&2 w'2MB.
20MB HD 6 MS C 61,

Includes — Obfedive-C Compiler, Runtime Library,
rcpakioi Library with 16 MB extended memory suport
$249 - 30-Day Money^ack VlSUMOAMEX/Check

THE STEPSTONE CORPORATION

75 Glen ftoad, Sandy Hook, CT Q64S2

(BOG) 2H9-6253 (203) 426-1375

DROP-KICK A HARD DISK

31 the bits fall ofl, rig not a Tandon Frieonal Data F^c—The on¬
ly removable hard disk system that is truly rugged enough to
be portable, Designed to withstand impacts up to £50Gsl
Because. .. II YOU dowl drofUbck It. Murphy wlHt Compiele
and ready to go wilh one 40Mb disk pac. irtroductory price
only $93a Call nav wilh VtSA/MC

Business Computer Services, Inc.

1800 Soulh Fktoertson BM„ Stifle 206 Los Aregete* CA 00035

Telephone: (213) &36-HJ26 Fax: (2T3) 636-4723

Inquiry 643.

Inquiry 649.

246 Fall 1989 * B Y T E IBM Special Edition

Inquiry 650.

COP'S Copy lock II

« Ptotoa c*a tiandrttd oraMies

■ Cannol be copied by any darioa incl. Option BoaaiJ

* Fully hand flls* IrwlAltebte

■ Normal back-up of protected programs

■ UiN-suppart

* Cwotoa ifiio demo wraiofi of ysur fitftware

Sr art Pak $450

Standard Varakin $97$ Automatic ^teraion $1960

DAN COT EC Computer

Inquiry 651

Codesafe Hardware Key

For schwaro dwelppars and MIS managera: Easy to instoll stfhrare
protection again# unBtfhwi^ usetf dfahwhtf v custom programs
PlacBS."SHELL"* around $C#tw®ie wfihggl requiting access K? source
code Ccmtpletety irtuisparam to aid uapr. Key has mi btetSfy to war
out. EwAjatron KHS150 t $5 S/H (applicable kwrard firs onfer-Vfery
low Paces) Also aw4acle, a complete line pf PC access and date
security and encryption produds CatUWrite fcr info MC/YISMAMEX
Gamma SemrUy Products, 710 Wflsliire 8ML Ste 60, Sanfc Monica,
CA 90401 TEL' 2133W-8022 FAX 21^3954514

Ellashlm Inc.

52LAV Hwy 436, Suite 1180-30, AHamorte Spgs., FL 37714
TEL: 4CTO82-15B7 FAX; 407/774^103

Inquiry 652.

COPY PROTECTION

T he world's leading sphwpn? manufacture re depend
on Sottguard copy protealen systems, Vbur FREE
DISKETTE introduces you to SuperUKk*—InvMble Cb(ty pro¬
tection tor IBM-FC (and compatiMBS) and Macintosh.

* Hard disk suppon * Mo source code changes

* Cuatorolied wrawra * LAN support

• New upgrades available
(406) 773-9660

SOFTGUARD SYSTEMS, INC.

710 Laiwwy, Suite 200, Sutioyiflfe C* 94O0&

_ rax Moaj m- nos _

Inquiry 653.

HANDS OFF THE BOARD' M

1/2 SHI SECURITY BOARD

Stop floppy bort — Require password to hoc* PC
Real-time dlafc. encrypt — prevent txx* sector virus
Prevent DOS FORMAT/FDISK and fcwriewH formats
Set hard disk READ ONLY or turn OWQFF
Turn floppies, printers and COM ports ONfOFF
IBM XT AT Bus — DOS Y30+ - $14995 + $$00 ®H

SYSTEMS CONSULTING INC

FO BOX lliaoe, Pittsburgh, PA 15336
_ (412) 665-1624 _

Inquiry 654,

SOFTWARE/ACCOUNTING

dBASE BUSINESS TOOLS

* GENERAL LEDGER

«PORCH OHDfllWNTDRY

- ORDER ENTRY

- ACCOUNTS RECWBLE

- JOS COSTING

- JOB ESTIMATING

- BILL OF MATLS

- SALES ANALYSIS

< 1WR0LL

* ACCOUNTS PAYABLE

$99 ea.

+ S&H

dATAMAR SYSTEMS

4075-B Santa Monica Awe.

Crad. Cajd-Check-COD

San Diego. CA 92107

(6t9) 223-3344

Inquiry 655.

The Buyer’s Mart

SOFTWARE/BUSINESS

DATA ENTRY
POWERFULLY SIMPLE

Full featured, heads-dcwn data entry with two-pass verification.
Designed for the PS 12 *. PC, XT, AT or compatibles
Standalone $395 LAN version available

FREE trial .

Computer Keyes Tel: 206/776-6443
21929 Makah Rd. Fax: 206/776-7210

Woodway, WA 98020 USA: 800/356-0203

LP88-SPREA DSHEET LP

Our best-selling menu-driven linear programming system now
solves problems with 1000 constraints and 5000 variables up
to 30 times faster. New version readsrivrrtes Lotus worksheets
Use 1-2 3/Symphony as a matrix generator or post processor
Many other features including interactive and batch operation,
spreadsheet style display, equation processor, problem/basis
storage file I/O, Simplex restart, report generator, sensitivity
analysis lENcws says The flexibility and features of thts pro
gram are a bargain aI its low price" $149 with 0087 support
and 100-page manual $29 for working demo and manual
EASTERN SOFTWARE PRODUCTS, INC.

PO Box 15328. Alexandria. UA 22309 ( 703) 360-7800

Inquiry 656.

LOW COST/HIGH QUALITY

Established, Powerful, Complete, Business Manage¬
ment Software Systems. Point-of-Sale/Inventory Control
"SALES-PRO”, Service and Repair, Video/Rental Store
Management. Church Management, Accounting and
Many more starting at $39. For IBM PC Compatibles
and the Atari ST.

HI-TECH ADVISERS

PO. Box 7524, Winter Haven, FL 33883-7524

1-800-882-4310 for technical info (8t3) 293-3900

Florida (813) 294-1885 24 HOUR FAX (813) 325-0375 _

Inquiry 657.

LOCATE HARD-TO-FIND BUSINESS
AND STATISTICAL SOFTWARE

Econometric* • Biometrics • Cluster Analysis • Multivariate Analysis
• Marketing Statistics • Experimental Statistics • A NOVA • Regres¬
sion • Linear Programming • Protect Planner • Forecasting & Ttme-
Senes • Sales & Market Recasting • Quality Control and Industrial
Experiments • Parameter and Tolerance Design • And Many Morel
SEND FOR FREE PRODUCT GUIDE!

Lionheart Press, Inc.

RO. Box 379, Alburg, VT 05440

(514) 933-4918 FAX: (514) 939-3087

Inquiry 658.

DATA ENTRY

KeyEntry IIP, a complete Data Entry System that provides
all the capabilities for designing data entry applications, con¬
trolling data flow, & monitoring/reportlng operator activity &
performance. Supports LAN and stand-alone environments.
Evaluation copy (all programs & documentation) available.
Call today for Information!

Southern Computer Systems, Inc.

2732 Seventh Avenue South
Birmingham, AL 35233
(800) 533-6879/(205) 251-2985

Inquiry 659.

SOFTWARE/DATA TRANSFER

UNIVERSAL DATA COMPATIBILITY

CrossFlle—An intelligent, seamless, interactive data link
tor DOS-based applications including spreadsheet,
database and vertical market programs.

• Capture any data

• Select only the fields and records to move

• Move data easily to another application
$149.95 Use any charge card 60-day money-back guarantee

Saxon Systems, Inc.

18007 Kensington Ave., Cerritos, CA 90701
(213) 404-4030

Inquiry 660.

SOFTWARE/DEVELOPMENT

Moby Words *

On 5 V. " nccptM

Moby Mtmfc Moby Part-d-Speecfi

530000 unique words & phrases 150000 wots tfh pate of speech

The largest word 1st *1 the For razor sharp language

work) $78 parsing $148

Mctw^Hyphmascy Moby Pronunosfoi

150000 syllabified words tWJXO *OT5 wflh standarO Fk marts

Never gve the user a bad For perfect text to speech $198

break again $128

Ail Royalty free. Send check or MO (CA add 6%) la
lllu mind Unabridged

571 Betden Si , Sle A. Monterey. CA 93940-1307
COO/tnto: 1-408-373-1491

Inquiry 661.

SOFTWARE/ENGINEERING

SCADA SYSTEM DESIGN

IBM PC or compatible

Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition modular design soil
ware includes interactive screens tor sizing RTU parameters,
modem speed, etc. extensive tutorial, provision for engineer
mg analysis modules, addressing stabttty & control and after
native technologies for communications subsystems $450
Engineering modules priced indvidually. and described in free
catalog

AURASTAR INFORMATION SYSTEMS, INC.

Suite 620, 12001 N. Central Expressway, Dallas. Texas 75243

(214) 770-1950 Fax (214) 770-1954

Inquiry 662.

MIDNIGHT ENGINEERING™

A new publication tor entrepreneurial hardware and software
engineers that will encourage and challenge you to personally
develop and market your own products,

• PRACTICAL ARTICLES

• INSIGHTFUL INTERVIEWS

• DETAILED PRODUCT REVIEWS

call or write for a FREE copy of the premiere issue of Mid¬
night Engineering

DATA rx

111 E. Drake Rd . Suite 7041, Fort Collins. CO 80525

303-223-2120

Inquiry 663.

MASS & VOLUME CALCULATOR

WITH MATERIALS DATABASE

Calculate the volume of dozens of shapes easily with
Mass2. Weights are calculated tor over 700 materials.
Differential and proportional comparisons made
automatically. Flexible input system accepts Decimal,
Fractional, and Exponential notation. For IBM PCs and
Compatibles with 384K. $69

DEMPSEY’S FORGE, Software Division

Rt 2 Box 407. Gladys. VA 24554

Let ua FAX you a flier. CALL 804-283-4602

Inquiry 664.

Analog Circuit Simulation

• Schematic Entry Intusoft has a complete PC

• 9PICE Simulator

• Model Libraries through SPICE simulator using

• Monte Carto Analysis extended memory to com-

„ „ prehenshe interactive post pro-

- Parameter Sweeps cessing Starting at $95 for

• Plotting/Graphics Output bSpfoe, the complete system

. _ _ sells tor just $790

Intusoft

The leader in low cost, full PO Bo* 0607, San Pedro, CA 90734
featured CAE software (213) 8334710 FAX (213)831-3956

Inquiry 665.

PCB THERMAL ANALYSIS

A Printed Circuit Board’s greatest enemy is ex¬
cess heat. Prevent overheating by using PCB
THERMAL ANALYSIS SOFTWARE. PCB is an
easy to use, fully integrated analysis package
that provides concise results. Temperatures are
displayed on a topographical color contour plot.
Cost $5000, demo $15.

KCR PRODUCTS

PO Box 1415, Burleson. TX 78028

Inquiry 666.

SOFTWARE/ENGINEERING

SIMULATION WITH GPSS/PC”

GPSS/PC* is an MS-DOS compatible version of the
popular mainframe simulation language GPSS.
Graphics, animation and an extremely Interactive en¬
vironment allow a totally new view of your models. If you
are contemplating the creation or modification of a com¬
plex system you need GPSS/PC to help you predict its
behavior. Call now.

MINUTEMAN Software

PO. Box 1717Y, Slow, Massachusetts USA.

(SOS) 897-5662 ext. 540 (800) 223-1430 ext. 540

Inquiry 667.

FREE ENGINEERING MAGAZINE

Personal Engineering is a monthly magazine sent
free of charge (USA only) to scientists/engineers
who use PCs for technical applications. Topics
each month include Instrumentation • Data
Acq/Control • Design Automation. To receive a
free sample issue and qualification form either cir¬
cle below or send request on letterhead to:

Personal Engineering Communications

Box 300, Brookline. MA 02146

Inquiry 668.

PC CIRCUIT DESIGN AND ANALYSIS

REG PRICE SALE

LINEAR (OPTIMIZER. POLES) $198.50 8149.75

DIGITAL SYNTHESIS $218^0 $164.75

SIGNAL (CONVOLUTION) $218.50 $164.75

FFT (SPECTRA) $ 113.50 $ 86.00

EC SKETCH (LINEAR) $ 50.50 $ 38.75

LC SKETCH (LOGIC) $ 50.50 $ 38.75

SALE ENDS FEB. 1, 1990

SOFCAD ELECTRONICS, INC.

1609 ESSEX ROAD. COLUMBUS, OH 43221

PHONE (614) 488-3400

Inquiry 669.

TUTSIM". USA’s #1 Program for Linear and Non-
Unear Continuous System Simulation now has

PERSONAL Prices for PERSONAL Use: $12950!

Full Featured 999 block program, full text and examples.

An analog computer in your “IBM compatible.”

Until Thanksgiving: $97.50 ♦ $5S&H + (in CA) Slate Tax.
(Same program as our $595 professional version)

TUTSIM Products, 200 California /We., # 212 .

Palo Afto, CA 94306; (415) 325-4800

Personal TUTSIM is not licensed tor corporate use. government
agencies, or classroom instruction No PO's, COO's. No tooling*

Inquiry 670.

SOFTWARE/ENTERTAINMENT

BE MORE ENTERTAINING!

With the new, improved Humor Processor Version

2 you can add humor to your speeches, newslet¬
ters, or everyday conversation. Create original jokes
or select from the indexed, expandable 500-joke
database. Only $49.95 + $5 S&H. IBM PC or Com¬
patible. 30-day money-back guarantee. Call today
for special offer !

Responsive Software

1901 TUnnel Rd., Berkeley, CA 94705

800-669-4611 VISA/MC

Inquiry 671.

SOFTWARE/GEOLOGICAL

GEOLOGICAL CATALOG

Geological software for log plotting, gridding/con-
touring, hydrology, digitizing. 3-D solid modelling,
synthetic seismogram, fracture analysis, image pro¬
cessing. scout ticket manager, over 50 programs
in catalog. Macintosh too! Please call, or write, for
Free Catalog!

RockWare, Inc.

4251 Kipling St. Suite 595. Wheat Ridge. CO 80033 USA

(303) 423-5645 Fax (303) 423-6171

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Fall 1989 247

The Buyer’s Mart

SOFTWARE/GRAPHICS

1 1

SOFTWARE/MATHEMATICS

PC TECHNICAL GRAPHICS

TEKMAR is a graphics library for the VGA, EGA or Tec-
mar Graphics Master. Similar to PLOT-10, indudes WIN¬
DOW. VIEWPORT, AXIS Support for HP, HI plotters.
Curve fitting, complete plotting program. Log, semi-log,
mutti-axls, 3-D, contours. Jerry Pournelle (Aug 86 Byte).
"As good as any 1 have ever seen..." Demo disks,
literature available

Advanced Systems Consultants

21115 Devonshire St. #329, Chatsworth, CA 91311

(818) 407-1059

GRAPHICS PRINTER SUPPORT

AT LAST! Use the PrtSc key to make quality scaled SAW
or color reproductions of your display on any dot matrix,
inkjet, or laser printer (>ncJ PostScnpt) GRAFPLUS sup¬
ports all versions of DOS with IBM find EGA, IGA, Super
VGA), Hercules, or compatible graphics boards. Link-
ab&OEM versions available $99.95.

Jewell Technologies, Inc.

474044th Ave. SW, Seattle, WA 98116

800-628-2828 x527 (206) 937-1081

Derive™

A Mathematical Assistant

Makes math more inspiration and less perspiration!
Combines the power of compute! algebra with 2D & 3D
plotting and a fnendly menu-driven user interface. Does
equation solving, calculus, trigonometry, vector & matrix
algebra, and more. Derive requires a PC compatible
computer & 512K memory

Soft Warehouse, Inc.

3615 Harding Ave . Suite 505, Honolulu, HI 96816

(808) 734-5801

Inquiry 672.

Inquiry 678.

SOFTWARE/PACKAGING

SOFTWARE/CELLULAR AUTOMATA

Ware to explore an entirely new way lo compute? With Autodesk’s
Cellular Automata Lab and your IBM* PC, creeling dazzkng anima¬
tions, simulating complex physical systems, exploring massively
parallel computation, and experimenting with artificial life is |ust
the beginning. CA Lab" is your passport to the frontiers of com¬
puting. Includes a 250-page introduction to ceKutar automata by
award-wtnnmg author Rudy Rucker. $5995

Autodesk, Inc.

2320 Marinship Way. Sausalito, CA 94965

(800) 525-2763

FORTRAN PROGRAMMER?

Now you can call 2-D and 3-D graphics routines within your
FORTRAN program

GRAFMATIC: screen routines $135.

PLOTMATIC: plotter driver 135

PRINTMAHC printer driver 135.

For the IBM PC. XT, AT & compatibles We support a
variety ot compilers, graphics bds., plotters and printers.

MICROCOMPATIBLES

301 Prelude Dr.. Dept B, Silver Spring. MD 20901 USA

(301) 593-0683

HARD TO FIND COMPUTER SUPPLIES FOR
SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS & POWER USERS

Cloth binders & sipcases like IBM's Vinyl binders, boxes, and folders
in many sizes Disk pages, envelopes. & labels. Low quantity knpnnt-
ling Bo* disks Everything you need to bring your softvrare to market
Disk and binder mattes. Much mote 1 Low Prices! Fast service. Call
or write lor a FREE CATALOG.

Anthropomorphic Systems, Limited

376-B E Saint Charles Rd., Lombard, IL 60148

1-800-DEAL-NOW 312-629-5160

Inquiry 673.

Inquiry 679.

Inquiry 685.

CAD/CAM Programmers!

Ybu save hundreds o< hours of programming and debugging
time (and the thousands at dollars this time costs!) when you
use the CAD/CAM math and DXF routines In the

QuickGeometry Library

All the routines you need lor any type of CAD/CAM/CAE pro¬
gram! 250 ready-to-use routines that construct, intersect and
offset lines, arcs, circles, ellipses and even splines!

$199 includes source code and telephone support
Call (617) 628-5217 today for information or to order!
BuHdlng Block Software, PO Bon 1373, Somerville, MA 02144

Inquiry 674.

Technical Report Graphics

EDTECH scientific graphics for PC has new laser
printer and dot matrix versions
— Database, worksheet-style data editing
— Technical X-Y plots from data for reports
— Graphics editing on screen, drawing, text
— Log axes, Greek, symbols, Lotus impfex

DIGITAL ANALYTICS

P.O. Box 31430, Houston, TX 77231

_ (713) 721-2069 _

Inquiry 675.

TECHNICAL GRAPHICS I

FROM ANY LANGUAGE

• Logarithmic, Time/Date & Linear Axes.

• Easy Curve Fitting and Data Smoothing.

• Supports all Video & Device Standards.

• lO Curves with up to 8000 points each.

• Plus much much more

Only $95 Call Today 800-284-3381

Edmond Software, Inc.

5900 Mosteller Dr. #1125, Oklahoma City, OK 73112

Inquiry 676.

PEN PLOTTER EMULATOR

FPLOT turns your dot matrix or laser printer into
an HP pen plotter. Fast hi-res output. No jagged
lines. Vary line width, color. Works with Autocad,
Drafix, etc. Supports NEC P5/P6, IBM Proprinter,
Epson LQ/FX. Toshiba, HP Laserjet, Okidata
29x/39x, Hercules/CGA/EGA/VGA. $64 cbeck/m.o.

Fplot Corporation

24-16 Steinway St., Suite 605, Astoria, NY 11103

_ 718-545-3505 _

Inquiry 677.

GRAPHIC TOOLS LIBRARY

NOVA XGLIB: High speed Wirvdow\i«wport, arcs, splines, figure
(Ml. borders, text scale, rotate, align, bitmaps, brtbtt. pens, keyboard,
mouse, Image capture and processing. Animation Over 150 (unc¬
tions $75.

PC_V0I: High speed text at any angle, size and position, outline
niabte lont factory, plots, charts and curve m Free Demo Disk $395.
Both products ANSI compatible Free drivers tor printers, plotters,
lasers Hercules. CGA/EGA/VGA/VGA256, meet boards. For all "C"
compilers. FORTRAN, MS QuickBASIC. Manual

NOVA INC.

PO BOX 68976, Schaumburg, IL 60168

_ 312-882-4111 _

Inquiry 680.

ADULT ONLY SOFTWARE

You must be 18 yrs or older to order

1 4 AMAZING dtgrfizod mow®*! CGA/EGA
2.5 disks of XXX GIF Pics + viewer EGA/VGA req’d
Ybull love them

3.4 XXX CGA games Fun lo Turn-On!

Each item - (525" & $20. 35’ iff $25)
FREE CATALOG WITH EVERY ORDER
MC/Visa (000) 283-4000 Ext 848

SILICON VALLEY FREEWARE

P.O. Box 70397. Sunnyvale, CA 94086

Inquiry 681.

SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE
LETS TALK PACKAGING

From Disk Labels to Manuals to Shipping Boxes—
We are a complete packaging service. Everything
you need to market your software. Call for our free
catalog.

S0FC0M Printing and Packaging

10305 Reading Rd.. Cincinnati, OH 45241
513-563-7136

Inquiry 686.

SOFTWARE/SCANNERS

Optical Character Recognition

Stop retyping: PC-0CR* software w4 convert typed or
printed pages into edtabte text files tor your wad processor
Works with HP ScanJet, Panasonic and most other scan¬
ners Supplied with 18 popular forts. User trainable you
can teach PC-OCR™ to read virtually any typestyle tnd.
foreign forts. Proportional text, matrix printer output, Xerox
copies OK $385 CheckMSA/MOAmExpCOD

Essex Publishing Co.

PO Box 391, Cedar Grove, NJ 07009

(201) 783-6940

Inquiry 687.

SOFTWARE/LANGUAGES

SOFTWARE/SCIENTIFIC

Your Complete C Resource

* Tutorials * " How-To " Articles
’ User Reports * Code A Tools

Every issue brings you useful C Information from industry
leaders such as P.J Plauger. Rex Jaeschke, Robert Ward.
Ken Pugh, David Fiedler and fellow programmers

Subscribe now. Just $28 yr. ($46 overseas) Send payment
in US$ to:

The C Users Journal

2120 W 25th St.. Ste B. Lawrence. KS 66047

(913) 841-1631

TableCurve—TableCode

Curve-Fit 211 Equations in a Single Step
TableCurve™ generates printed reports and Lotus,
dBase. Quattro, Harvard Graphics, and Pagemaker/
Ventura output TableCode™ generates functions
and calling code for C, Pascal. BASIC, FORTRAN,
Modula-2 and dBASE languages.

Demo $5, TableCurve $159, TableCode $149 MC/Vtsa

AISN Software

PO. Box 32277, Phoenix. AZ 85064

602-266-1925

Inquiry 682.

Inquiry 688.

FORTH with DRUMA FORTH-83

Break the 64K barrier without apeedfspace penalty.
Well designed, attractively priced. '83 Standard.

• 1Mb+ automated memory management

• On-line documentation. ASCIl/biock files

• Many powerful and uselul features

• Other products: windows, modules, profiler

• IBM PC/XT/AT & all compatibles

Write or call for FREE example diskette.

DRUMA INC.

6448 Hwy. 290 East El03. Austin. TX 78723

Orders: 512-323-0403 BBoard: 512-323-2402

C SCIENTIFIC LIBRARY

Extensive library of matrot, mathematical, and statistical routines.
Developed and documented tor use by technical specialists and C
programmers in research, education, engineering, and scientific ap-
pfcatkm Over 550 functions, superior documentation—tour manuals,
including Tutorial. Function Pages, and Example Programs Includes
Real and Complex Linear Algebra. Egensystems, Differential Equa¬
tions. Quadrature. Smootfwig, Filtering and Prediction. MultiWriate
Satisfies, MuttvDmensttnaJ Optimization, Linear Programming, Curve
Fitting and Intorpotabcm etc. $295 object only and $396 with C source
code.

EIGENWARE TECHNOLOGIES

13090 La Vwta Dr, Saratoga. CA 95070 (408)887-1184

Inquiry 683.

Inquiry 689.

248 Fall 1989 • B Y T E IBM Special Edition

The Buyer’s Mart

SOFTWARE/SCIENTIFIC

LARGE MATRICES

Inner a 235 x 235 flEAL'8 non-sparse matrix m 35 mmcn yom
64GK DOS based 16 MHz SB&W (13 min on 12 mi 2mm usmg
LU decomp with bad; subs'. Also large main* capability lor matrix
miJHipfy transpose; scale, add. simul eq. efc 00 M precision to added
merutty hoards required. Lhre with Miuraadt dr IBM Pm FORTRAN
unfwmadcd matrin files. Full featured demo disk can generate and
run large random madrseos $2D.

JOYCE NUMERICS INC.

500 Chasterbrocik BlwL, Suita 15 C-fl, Wayne. PA 15057

(215) 993 9013

Inquiry 690.

Free catalog includes
technical application notes

1-800-942-MATH

MicroMath Scientific Software
Salt Lake City T Utah 84121-3144

Inquiry 691.

STATISTICS

D8 MS/COPY

CONVEHTS VOUR Dm INTO INFORMATION

Mow youf tavprUe 5 lift pqgk@g* car. access Wly database
DBMSCOPY can directly convert any oalabasa nr spreadsheet Tie
{ORACLE. PARADOX, tfQA$£, LOTUS ale) into eny ster package
rile fSAS, SPSS. SYSW, ole.) and vie* versa. Th* PLUS vftrteOfl
allows sorts. selections, and recafculaltera. 5195 30-day guarantee,
VISA/MCJAMEX/PG/COO,

CONCEPTUAL SOFTWARE INC

ROL Box 56627. Houston, TX 77256

(713) 687-4222 FAX: (713) 567-3 FAX

1BOO-STATWOW

Inquiry 696.

THE SURVEY SYSTEM

An easy-to-use package designed specifically for
questionnaire data. Produces banner format, cross
tabs & related tables, statistics [rnd. regression) & bar
Charts. Codes and reports answers to open-end
questions. Ail reports are camera-ready for profes¬
sional presentations. CRT interviewing option

CREATIVE RESEARCH SYSTEMS

T6 Lone Oak Ctr, Depti fl, Petaluma. CA 94952

_ 7Q7-765-1Q01 _

Inquiry 697.

POWER FFT

High per lormarvee FFT newline library tat the IBM-PC. Uses
improved FFT r Prime Facler, and Gen era FN algorilhmg io
give unmatched performance. Over 6000 efficienl lengths up
to pqinlE. Coded *n assembly. Complex 1000 FFT in

135ms on Compaq 20MHz 366-367 or 866ms cm 12MHz
2B6-8MHz 2E7. Forwa-’d/inverse, mull .dimension and real
transforms. Use with most C, FORTRAN, and Pascal
products.

enccTcr **«<»

VV rr 1 LV plus S3 shipping

PD. Bax 2363. Westford, MA 01886

StatPac Gold™

StalPac Gold is the award’Wi nning statistics and
forecasting package that delivers. It's fast, flexible,
easy to use and dependable Ttme-lested and loaded
with features tbu be the |udge. Gel the Facts! Calf
for your FREE brochure.

1-800-328-4907

Walonick Associates, Inc.

6500 Nicollet Avie. 5„ Minneapolis, MN 55423 i

(612) 866-9022

Inquiry 692.

Inquiry 698.

SOFTWARE/SECURITY

TERMINAL EMULATION

HANDS OFF THE PROGRAM®

OPERATING SYSTEM SECURITY

Secures subdirectories, files, printers and floppies

Key board kick — aulomalk; or manual

Log PC boot, program exec, tile opens. login/iogouEs
Presents DOS FORMAT and most viruses

Drive A: Bool Protection i Herd Disk Lock

IBM PC or 100% comp, - DOS V30+ - $8Sl95 + $675S/H

SYSTEMS CONSULTING INC.

PO BOX 111209, Pittsburgh, PA 15236

(412) 963-1624

DEBBI Does Dbase

Dbaso/Emutetipn Board Binary Interface

Mow, with DE a Bl & Dbase, you can easily design programs
that utilize your IRMA If or Forte PJ board Load DEBBI and
Then call bar throughout your applications to e*changs data
with ywr host, Vfery fast—very simple to use Includes Obj
module for Clipper users. £85 single us&r/$295 developers

Finity Software

6802 Ridge Blvd., Suits 4-H, Brooklyn, NY 11220

(718) 748-0249

Inquiry 693. Inquiry 699.

SOFTWARE/SORT

UNINTERRUPTABLE POWER

OPT-TECH SORT/MERGE

Exinemely fast Sod/Merge/Select utility. Run as an
MS-DOS command or CALL as a subroutine. Sup¬
ports most languages and file types ind ucing Btrieve
and dBASE Unlimited file sizes, multiple keys and
much morel MS-DOS $149. OS/2, XENIX, UNIX
$249.

(702) 588-3737

Opt-Tech Data Processing

RQ. Box 678 — Zephyr Gove, NV 89448

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR COMPUTER

And Make It Last Longer

FREE mcmeysaving Beratm. Wh* jou need lo know about UPS—
WlktemiptiMe power supply, Row to gel complete prelection from
power fins problems through 15K\A models from the world’s

largest manuta£iij«r of single-phase UPS.

Best Power Technology, Inc.

RO Brot 280. rtecBdah, Wl 54646
(608) 565-72DD *x1. 3737

TOLL FREE (660) 356-5764 e*t 3737

S'e? cm r Ad on page 2S0

Inquiry 694.

Inquiry 700.

STATISTICS

UTILITIES

NEW STATISTIX" 3.0

PC Magazine Editors Choicel

* Superb Data Management * Excellent manual
* Easy to use * Fast, tree support
• Range 8 Depth of Statistics

Buy the BEST for Vy the price of the competition

CALL 612-631-2852 Now

No-risk 30 day money back guarantee

Analytical Software, Rescue, mmsshs

COPY AT TO PC— BRIO G E-IT 3.5

"CPW2PC" HEUABIY writes 360KB floppiest 12 MBdriw semng^
slot ter a sscwid Iwd disk w tip* back-t* Only S7S.t» * S/H
“BRIDGE-IT 35“ is a DEVICE DRIVER supporting m r TOKBT1.44MB
tinm lor POXTMT without upgrading OQStt-OS Only $33.00 + SH
BSIDGE-TT 35 BUNDLED WITH INTERNAL 1.44MB DRIVE AT
ti2500 + s fH vtaviA&coo uesem

MICROBRIDGE COMPUTERS

655 Sky Way Suite 113, San Cartes, CA 94070

1-415-593-6777(CA} 1-415-593-7875 (FAX)

1-514-645-Ceia (CANADA) *-600-6234777

Inquiry 695.

Inquiry 701.

UTILITIES

AppleWorks IBM

CROSS-WORKS transfers both ways between
Apple lle/llc/llgs and IBM PCfXVfWPS Z &
compatibles. Exchange AppleWorks with Word¬
Perfect (keeps formatting), Lotus 1-2-3 (keeps
formulas), and dBase II l/IIM! Included cable
plugs in serial ports for 19.20Q baud transfers.
Easy menu operation.

Phone (919) 878-7725 for free info packet.

SoftSpohan Co,, PO Box 97623, Raleigh, NC 27624

Inquiry 702.

SAVE TIME and MONEY

with the RED Utilities, Programs include' Batch file
compiler speeds batch files. Disk cache speeds
hard and floppy disks. Printer spooler. Path com¬
mand for data fiies. Wild card exceptions, Sort
directories. Over 10 more programs, Only $79.95.
Order today! IHLday money-back guarantee. IBM
PC, Visa/MC.

The Wenham Software Company

5 Burtey St., Wenham,, MA 01964 (SOS) 774-7036

Inquiry 704.

WORD PROCESSING

We can read 130 languages
from Armenian to Zulu

U$e SPOT OCR Software with an image scanner fird jtaur
PC to 1 ’ij.jd 130 foreign languages, typed pages, typeset
material, magazines and books irflo standard te*! files.
Flagstaff Engineering can provide any OCR solution. Call to¬
day to discuss yteiw appl ieSltanl

Flagstaff Engineering

1120 Kaibab Lane, Flagstaff, AZ SGOOi
(602) 779-3341

Inquiry 705.

FARSI 1 GREEK / ARABIC / RUSSIAN

Hebrew^ all European, Scandinavian, plus either Hindi. Pun¬
jabi, Bengali, Gujarati. Tamil, Thai, Korean, Viet, or IRA. Full-
featured rnulli-l&nguage word processor supports on-$creen
foreign characters and NLG priming wllh no hardware
rrtodiRCatiOfis. Includes Rml Edilor. $355 dd matrix; $150
adkfl Tof laser; $19 ttemo. StH in U 8 incl'd. Reg PC, 640K,
graphics. 30-day Guarantee. MC/VlSA/AMEX

GAMMA PRODUCTIONS, INC.

710 Wilshire BW, Suite BOO, Santa Monica, CA 00401
213/394-6622 Th: 5106006273 Gamma Pro SNM

Inquiry 706,

DuangJan

Bilingual word processor lor English and; Armenian,
Bengali. Burmese, Euro'Latin,'African, Greek, Gujarati,
Hindi, Khmer, Leo, Punjabi, Russian. Sinhalese, Tamil,
lelugu, Thai. Ukraman, Viet, .. Only $109435 &/h
(foreign + $12 s/h). Font editor included For any IBM
compatibles with dot-matrix & LaserJet printer. Demo
$9+$i 9/h. Visa/MC

Meg a Chomp Company

3436 Coltman A».. Philadelphia, PA 19149^1606

(215) 331-2740 FAX: (215) 331-4188

Inquiry 707.

PC-Write 3.0 — Shareware

Fast, full feslured wo/d processor for IBM PC New edits large
files & multiple columns. Alsu Spell check, mal merge, net¬
working, ASCII, and macros. Easy-to^ise, optional menus.
Supports 500 primers inch lasers. Software, guide end futariad
on disk: $19, Registration with manual, suppon newstaher
and 2 free updales: $99.

90-dsy morley-back guarantee. VfSA/MC,

Quieksoft i-soo-eae-aoes

219 First Ave. N. r #224-B¥TC, Seattle, WA 58109

Inquiry 706.

BYTE IBM Special Edition ■

Fall 1989 249

\ trae tu/ on meaner service l .ara

PCs I

• enhanced PC productivity

• network and serial communications

• correct and complete emulation
^ easy to install and use

• clear documentation

• dedicated tech support staff

CTr data
rlU SYSTEMS

FULL TEK GRAPHICS

10801 Dale Street, Suite J-2* RG. Box 615. Stanton. CA 90680
(714) 995-3900 (800) 962-3900 FAX (714) 995-3989

L/liue ii iittiucf

9-TRACK MAG. TAPE SUBSYSTEM*
FOR THE IBM PC/XT/AT AND...

For information interchange, backup and archival storage,
AK Systems offers a 9-track, IBM format-compatible
V 2 r magnetic tape subsystem for the IBM PC, featuring:

■ IBM format 1600/3200 and 800 cpi.

■ Software for PC-DOS, MS-DOS, XENIX,

■ Also for AT&T, DEC, VAX,

vme. s-ioo. AKSystems

20741 Mar ilia St.
Chatsworth,CA913ll
(818) 709 8100

Write, phone or TWX for information jvvx^It 0^493 207?

Point & Shoot™

personal menu

ky^ SERIES I $75

Navigate through your PC painlessly.

A menu system which makes
your PC work the way you do.

■ Access to 160,000 applications

• Full security including Exit to DOS

■ Built-in Screen Saver with date/time box

■ Non-memory resident

m Over a dozen new features that you've asked for

NEW ADDITIONS to the
VI: Point & Shoot family:

Vi: PS-NET - Advanced Point & Shoot network menu
VI: Security Blanket - Elegant, PC security and menu
system

VI: Influence™ $98 D0

The electronic rotary file for every
PC user who must locate / talk to /

- Influence! - someone else to get things
done.

■ Finds contacts as you type

■ Search on any combination of 11 fields

■ Uses multiple dBASE Ill-compatible databases

■ Autodialer, tickler file, print spooler, and morel

VARTECKI
International

For the dealer nearest
you, call us toll free at:
1 -800-456-1 777 or
1 -201 -740-1750

Don y t Move!

without telling

BYTE

Clip out form below
and mail to:

BYTE Magazine
P.a Box 555
Hightstawn, NJ 08520

At lea si 8 week before you move, please give us your
new address and/or name change

(Please Print)

New address,,, name
Name._

Address .

Apt.

City

State-

Ztp

Print current name and address

(or affix the mailing label from your current issue of BYTE here)
Current address, name

Name .

Address

Apt.

City

State.

_ Zip _

250 Fall 1989

8 YT E

Circle 295 on Reader Service Card

Circle IS on Reader Service Card

Circle 128 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS.- 129)

DOS IN EPROM

Or any other code, for that matter! PromKit allows you
to create Eproms that look like read-only disk drives in
your PC-compatible systems. Use PromKit even if yoo’re
not a programmer. Just use PromKit to convert any disk
into EPROM images for your Prom blaster! Copy sys¬
tem files, batch files, data files, or anything else you
want. Use Proms for read-only, SRAMS for read-write!
Inctadu soiree coda in C. Over 180 pages, including
disk, only $179.

We’ll include a free copy of the
pocket-sized XT-AT Handbook by
Choisser and Foster with each PromKit if you men¬
tion this ad when you order. Of course, this $9.95
value is also available by itself. Or buy five or more for
only $5.00 each.

EH (619) 271-9526

VISA

Annabooks

12145 Alta Carmel Ct Suite 250-262

San Diego, California 92(28 Money-back guarantee

VOICE RECOGNITION/SYNTHESIS

HEARSAY 1000 - An advanced, easy to use high-quality
system that adds voice recognition and speech synthesis to
existing MSDOS or applications software. Voice commands
replace keyboard commands and macros. Verbalizes text
printed to the screen. Includes plug-in card, speaker/micro¬
phone assembly and instructions - Si49.95. Speech only - $99.

IBM PC and COMPATIBLES

HEARSAY 2000 - Similar to the HEARSAY 1000, incorporat-
b mg advanced recognition algorithms that generate 98%
s accuracy, are 3 times faster and utilize rejection. Includes
plug-in card, high-quality headset assembly and instruc-
' dons - $299.95. Allow 4-6 weeks for delivery.

HEARSAY WORD PROCESSOR VOICE INTERFACE -
f An on-line system that automatically controls top word
processors (WordPerfect, Word Star, etc.) via voice. Voice
tutorial option also included. Increases productivity and
eliminates costly training investments - $299.95. With Hear¬
say 2000 $499.95. Allow 4-6 for delivery.

HEARSAY RECORD & PLAYBACK - Available soon.

ORDER LINE (71S) 232-7266

Checks, money orders
add $4 sh/hd, COD ad-

M&.in sAY /rear

1S25 74th STREET, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK U204

ditional S3. 3D DAY
MONEY BACK GUAR¬
ANTEE. ONE YEAR
HARDWARE WAR¬
RANTY

2400 bps MODEM $95 30 day free trial
ECO/VOFAX™ or MNP-5. . .CALL

Many low cost modems are faulty or very error prone, ...Not ours! 1 1
PERFORMANCE ir / hav& recently had a lot of trouble getting 2400
BAUD MODEMS to work...this one is working perfectly hH. T, f Moreno
Valley CA. SUPPORT H / get the impression that your company,
indeed, bends over backwards to provide service to its customer ."
M.F.. Selma CA, SUPERIOR TECHNOLOG Y ...The phone connection
is the main source of data errors. DYNAMIC IMPEDANCE STABILIZ¬
ATION™, DIStm (invented by CompuCom) improves signal quality and
reduces these errors by up to 95% compared to a standard modem
Model 2400 (without DIS) at $95 outperforms the low cost alternatives,
th e 24DIS at $ 119 outpe rf onus th e chal I e ngers, regard!ess of cost. J 8 M
internal, Hayes compatible, made in USA, 6 COM ports, Internal
speaker, five year warranty. Easy Com software, dealers inquire, tf you
aren't totally satisfied, return within thirty days for a full refund /

March eg pi 02 BYTE MAGAZINE
CompuCom "Real deaf...worked fine...quite a bargain"

Corporation call ( 4 os) 732-4500 (Boot 223-6645

REEL

9-TRACK
GENIUS

UVEKLANLP UA 1 A Will hnng

nut the GENIUS IN YOU when it j
comes to connecting your PC to the
mini/mamframe world. OUR \
ENGINEERS DESIGNED the
most successful tape drives,
controllers and software in use
today. Call the expens .. .GDI!

* PC/XT/AT/386/PS2 & Compat. 1

* DOS, XENIX. UNIX. NOVELL
- 800, 1600, 3200. & 6250 BPI

* Outstanding Customer Support

* 24-hour delivery available on
Cipher. Qua!star. Anritsu & M4

nn| Overland D

UUI “Experience Makes

Wgtfl

"See ns at Comdex UW604 ”

ata

The Difference”

CALL TODAY AT 1-800-PC-9TRAK!

5600 Kearny Mesa Road
TEL: 619/571-5555 •

* San Diego, CA 92111

FAX: 619/571-0982

Circle 57 an Reader Service Card

Circle 195 on Reader Serv ice Card

BYTE

Fall 1989 251

Circle 280 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS: 281)

Buying a 286 ™ is a dead end—

However, buying a 386™ system based on price
alone can also be a bad decision. Buying too
much or too little computing power is expensive
and frustrating. Your Pi representative will
analyze your computer use and design the right
machine for your current and future needs. Your
Pi computer will then be built exactly to your
specifications. Pi Computer offers a line of DOS r
OS/2™ and UNIX personal workstations based on
a variety of 386™ motherboards, field proven to
serve professionals in business, engineering and
science with applications from text processing
and accounting through advanced design
verification and graphical process simulation.
Platforms range from a 16Mhz SX™ through a
386DX™ Cache/33.

Call Pi Computer to ensure that the professional
workstation you purchase today will also serve
your needs tomorrow.

Pi Computer
Corporation

Beyond the Standard

1030 Earlysville Forest Drive
Charlottesville, VA 22936 USA
Orders: 800-6NO-WAIT (800-666-9248)
Information: 804-978-3917 Fax: 804-978-3906

CACHE CONTROLLER

WORLDS FASTEST ACCESS TIME 0.3 MB
And you already have the drive!
Perfect for CAD CAM and Desktop
Publishing

hyperSTDRE S16 3PU
REVIEW IN THIS ISSUE

SIMMS

BEST PRICES * 2 YEAR WARRANTY
CALL FOR PRICES

8087 64K 256x9

80287 256K 256x8

B0C287A-12 4464 1 MEG x 9

80387DX VIDEO 1 MEG x 0

80387SX 1 MEG LOW PROFILE

Dealer and OEM Inquiries Welcome

Tel: (213) 383-9701

FAX: (213) 383-3423

G. Reed, Inc.

25S South Western Avenue, LA., CA 90004
Shipping and handling charges may apply.

Circle 126 on Reader Service Card

■ CHIPS & TECHNOLOGIES NEAT

CHIPSET

■ P WAIT STATE WITH 100 NS DRAM

■ UP TO 5 MB MEMORY

■ 2SERIAL/1 PARALLEL PORT/FDC
• LIM MEMORY CONTROLLER

■ AT SIZE Made In USA

386SX BOARD (ISMHZ) STARTING
^lTAT $596.00

SYSTEMS FROM $1,249.00
1 YEAR WARRANTY

PERIPHERAL TECHNOLOGY
1710 Cumberland Point Dr., #8
Marietta, Georgia 30067
(404) 984-0742
Fax: (404) 984-8248
MC/VISA No Surcharge

Circle 205 on Reader Service Card

&&E-

TRACK

TAPE SYSTEM

■ Mainframe Id PC Data Transler

♦ High Speed Backup

* All Software, Complete System
*Service end Support, easy

Installation

call (818) 343-6505 or write to:

COMTECH Computer Carp „

P-0 Bra 153 Tin*™, CA 9133ft

CONTECH

Circle 68 on Reader Service Card

252 Fall 1989 • BYTE IBM Special Edition

Mall Order Electronics - Worldwide

ameco

ELECTRONICS

— QUALITY PRODUCTS -

- COMPETITIVE PRICING -

- PROMPT DELIVERY

-i

DFI Scanner
and Mice

Scanner only:

-1BM PC/XTfAT ?*

Compatible ' - -

* 4' Scanning Wirstfow * *%, 5 .

* Weal lor DTP

and Graphics Prog-rams
m 4Q0DPI

HS390O Pictured

HS3000 Scanner .. .... $189.95
DMS200 Serial Mouse ,, $39.95
Logitech Mice & Scanners
Also Available!

Intel Products

CB6000

CB6010

1B1200

MB4320

MB4420

CB60M Pictured

Connexion..., ftH $749.95

.$249.95

inbSd^i'PC.$649.95

w/lMB RAW

Above Board206 ....$449.95
PLUS with 512K RAM
Above Board200 ....$499.95

PLUS Multi 'beard ml 51 2K RAM

Quadram FAX Board

* 1 SIUI POXT/AT n

Compatible I I"

* 4S0C1 Saud

* Includes: speaker
manual. phone cord
and a 1 -year warranty

JTFAX...,.$249.95

Jameco DB25 &
Centronics Swit ch Bo xes

■ All Pins Switched
* Long-life Operation

■ Gold Piaied Female

Connectors W

JE117Q Pictured

JE1T70 D82S pin Art Switch .,,*.. $22*95
JE1171 DB25-p*i A.U'C Switch 1>+ $27.95
JE1172 pB35-p*nA/evc*> Switch $29.95
J E1 1 73 Con ,36-pin NS Switch.. ** $24. 95
JE1174 Cm,36-pin A/BjC Switch $27-95

IBM Compatible Display " EW!

Monitors & Packages c^fpaJk^e*

Monitor/ Card Packag es

J El 059 TMSt 54 EGA Monitor & EGA Card $459.95 J £Z05S Package

J E2058 TM5157 Multiscan Monitor &. VGA Card $609*95
J E2060 TM5156 VGA Monitor & VGA Card .* $529-95

Display Monitors

AMBER 12" Amber Monochrome. $99*95

HD55H 14 H RGB 640 x 240* . $249*95

M9070S 16“ Mufoscan Monitor 1200 x S00.. $1099*95

TM5154 14“ EGA 720 X 350 *»»**•<*,****,***«***.**-■ $369-95 TM5157 Monitor

T M5 1 56 14" vga 720 x 4ED *... $399.95

TM5157 14“ Multisean BOO x 600 .*.. $469.95

GM1468 14" Flat Paper White Monochrome....... . $119.95

GM1489 14’ Flat Screen Amber Monochrome ..... $109.95 GCi 500 VGA Card

3.5" and 5.25"
Floppy Disk
Drives

MPF11 Pictured

Sony

MPF11 3.5’ 72Wb Internet Floppy Drive $69-95
SMK 5.25' Instailauon Kit wrfaceplat& ..... $ 14.95

Toshiba

35&KU 3 5' 1 44Mb Inlemal Drive ...

$109.95

TEAC

FD55B 5M- 360Kh Hall HeigftJ.

FD5SG S 75“ l ,£Mb Hal! Heiflhl

..$99.95

$119.95

Jameco

JE1020 5.25" 360Kb Hall H^ntBlac* $89.95
JE1021 5:25“ 360Kb Hall Ha.gni Gray $89.95
JE1022 5.25’ 1 2Mb Hal Hsighl Gray $99.95

Call or Write
Today
for a FREE
80-Page Catalog

-24-Hour •—

Order Hotline*. -
( 4 1S) 592-8097

Seikosha 9-Pin Dot
Matrix Printer

* 9-pin dul matrix print head * Centronics
parallel Interface * Epson or IBM modes
■ Character attribute capabilities: Double-
width, double-strike, italic, superscript
subscript and underlining

Puttou_—BaKrJniion_ — Eri c s

SP2000 Dot Main* Printer. .*$199.95

PRl Replacement printer Ribbon$9.95

Seagate Hard Disk Drives

Part No.

Capeclty

Slyte

Average

Formal

Drive Alow

ST12SN

2DMD

35-HH

40ms

sesr

$299.05

ST13aN

30Mb

3.5“HH

40ms

SCSI

$349.05

ST157N

40Mb

3.5“HH

40ms

SCSI

$199.95

ST125

20Mb

3.5 F HH

40ms

MFM

$259.95

STT36R

30Mb

35’HH

4Qms

RLL

$269-05

ST157R

40Mb

3.5’HH

40mS

RLL

$379.95

ST225

20Mb

0.25-HH

B&ms

MFM

$224.95

ST22SXT

20Mb

5.25"HH

65ms

MFM

---—

5T225AT

20Mb

5J5 H HH

65ms

MFM

—

5T23S

30 Mb

5.25’HH

65ms

RLL

$249.95

5T23BXT

30Mb

5,25’HH

65ms

RLL

ST23BAT

30Mb

5.25’HH

65ms

RLL

ST251-T

40Mb

5.2S-HH

26ms

MFM

$379.95

ST251XT

40Mb

5.25-HH

40ms

MFM

5T2&1AT

40Mh

S.25"HH

40ms

MFM

—

5T277

&0Mb

5.25“HH

40ms

RLL

H09.95

Sttttxt

60Mb

5 25“HJH

40ms

RLL

ST277AT

60Mb

5.25’HH

40ms

RLL

ST40M

60Mb

o.as-FH

26ms

MFM

$629.95

ST4144

120Mb

5.2S“FH

2Sms

RLL

$609,05

W.B-BH (XT)
Coni rolle r

W/1S-BH (AT)
Controller

$269.05

$339.96

$269,05

$309.95

$419.05

$460.95

$449,65

$540.95

nE VV! sCSI

ST157N

Mfi I

ST225XT

ST4144

Data Technology
30Mb Hard Disk Card

* IBM PC/XT Compatible * Self-contained
hard disk subsystem - Low-level formatted

* Easy installation ■ Self-booting ■ Low pow¬
er consumption ♦ One-Year Warranty

SA30..$379.95

Colorado
Memory
40Mb V
Tape
Back-Up

* IBM PC/XT/AT Compatible * Back-up 40Mb |
in 40 minutes * Back-up 60 to 120Mb with ex-
termed tapes and data compression software I

DJ10 4QMb Tape Back- Up w.'Tape $299.95
TB4Q 40Mb Tape Cartridge ,*.*.*.*«.***.*., $24,95 I

mx EGA and VGA Paint

■ IBM PC/XT/AT Compact)!*
1 Pop-Up Men-U

* Zoom Image Windows

■ image Library

Fart HP.Psacripilon

Price

EGAP EGA Palm Program*.. $79.95
VGAP VGA Paint Program $119.95

Software

lor I8M PCXT« AT, 366 or Compelibias
Fart Ne,_EteKripMon__. Prf «

C ATR CAT Trainable OC R*.* $109.95

EASY WORDSTAR EASY

Word Processing...*.$39.95

GAPLUS Drag Sort Diagnostic.$89.95

SPItitR SpinRue Hard Disk

Ftetermaner ,*,*,*.*,*.*,*,*. $59 95

Dynamic RAMs

4164-150 65.536* 1 (1 Sans) *. $2,15

41256-100 262. i44 S i(1 Mns}. .$3.95

41256-120 144x1 (120ng), .*.***>*, $3.69

41256-150 262.144* 1 {150ns).$3.25

511000P-10 1.046,576x1 (1 00ns) .*,.,$12.95
511000P-80 1.048,578x1 (8Cne).$13.95

V20 & Math Coprocessors

UPD7C109 5 £5MHz) V20 (Haplacas M0®} ....$5.25 I
UPD701QS-8 V20(flep(aces 8088^,1..S6.95 I

0007-2 PC/XT Comp. I BMHz I .$ 129.95

00287-10 AT Comp ( 1 0MHzj.$239.95

00307-16 3B6 Comp, (IGMHz).......$349.95

00307-20 3B6Comp.taoMHz)..$399.95

Computer Keyboards

j^sr IBM PC/XT/AT and Compatibles

JT-EHffl :8a W^III

riTITTTTTTTEI

m tttttttttttt

rnffiWrWF

zro:

fr* 1

JE2017 Pictured

JE2015 84-Key Standard AT Style Layout.... $59.95

JE1016 101-Key Enhanced Layout with 12 Function Kays... $69.95

JE2016 11 1 Key Enhanced Layout with Solar Powered Calculator.. ...$79.95

J E2Q17 NEW! 104-Key Enhanced Layout with Trackball (200 DPI Resolution)*.$99*95

1355 Shbrew&y Road
Belmont, CA 94002
24 Hour Order Hotline (415) 592-8097

FAX'S (415) 592-2503 or (415) 595-2664
Telex 176043 - Ans, Back: Jameco Blmt
Data Sheets - 5G£ each

Send $2.00 Postage for a FREE 80-Page Catalog

V -1969 Jameco Electronics 10.89
IBM la a registered trademark of
International Business Machines

VISA

Mul (Ma El-Klrantn -WDffcbrldi

ameco

ELECTRONICS

■SSf

24-Hour Order Hotline (415) 592-3097

* Customer Service (415) 592-8121 - Technical Assistance (415) 592-9990

$25,00 Minimum Order - U.S. Funds Only

CA Residents Add 6%, 6-5% or 7% Sates Tax
Shipping - Add 5% plus $1.50 Insurance
(May vary according to weight and shipping method)
Terms: Prices subject to change without notice,
We are not responsible for typographical errors.
We reserve Ihe right to substitute manufacturers.
Items subject to availability and prior sate.
Products pictured may only be representative.
Complete list el tamns/warranties is available upon request-

The Following Phone Lines Are Available From 7AM - 5PM P.S/L:

- Credit Department {415) 592-9983 * All Other Inquiries (415) 592-7108

MMC

nd<

Afout Ope* in las (/efl'df /

v\ California Residents call:

1 niti

IX 1-800-843-8414

Established 1976

S|| SIPP
MODULES

1 MGX 9-ltf IBMTTPEB

t MG X 9-1 SONS ..$125
t MG X 9-1 DONS SI 35
1MGX9- SONS ..1140
IMGX9- 7MS..I199

DIP

D RAM

i Mr, x i

|1 WGX1-12DflS$11.00
1 MG X MOONS $11,75
1 MGX1- SONS$12.50
|l MGXI- 70NS $13,00

256 X 9-12GNS
256 X ICONS ,$45

256X9- SONS.$55

256X9- SONS.$65

1 MG X 8-1 EONS ..$125
1 MGX8-1QQHS $140

256 X 8-120NS ..
256 X 6-TOONS ..

$39

..$49

256 X0-12ONS $65
I 30F534efKiT-2EAT$l3Q

11 mg x 0-100 $236

30F5360 (KlT-2EA.)$47d

6450603 (1 MG) .. $279
6450604 (2MG) ..$589

PS-2

MQDEL7Q&8D

$im

IMGXO-IOONS.1219
IMG X 9- SONS .... $279

2 MG X 9-SONS .... $865
(6450508)

(For 70A21J

2 MG X 9-80NS .... $589
(64506041
(For?0EG1/fl)-12t/slI
models)

1 MG X 9-SONS .... $279
(5450603)

[Fbr 70661/ 70-121)

1 mg(6450375)$429

2 mg(6450379) $929

256 X

1-1S0NS .,

..$3.50

256 X

M2QNS ..

..*3.75

256 X

MOONS ..

..$4.20

256 X

1- 80NS ..

..$4.95

256 X

1- TONS

..$5.75

256 X

1- SONS ..

..$6.00

256X4

256 X

4-12QN5 ,.

$11.00

256 X

4-1 OONS „

$12.00

256 X

4- SONS „

$14.00

64 X

4164-150 NS .....

..*1.39

4164-120 NS .

..*1.99

4164-1 OONS .

..$2.20

MATH CO-PRO

8G87-3(5MHZ)

.$8@ |

6Q87-2(8MHZ)

....$118

8087-1 .

....$165

80287-6 ..

....$120

80287-8......

....$195

80287-10 „.„

....$216

8GC287-12 ......

....$295

80387-16 .

....$310

80387-20 - .

....$360

8QG87-25 ........

$460

80387-33 .

. ...*599

ADVANCED MATH
CO PROCESSORS

4464-1 SONS . $4.00

4464-12QNS .
4464-1 DONS.

$ 4,50

$5.00

4464- 8GNS . $6.50

m X 4 STATIC COL

514258-1OONS . $25

PS-2

SIMM

256 X 1 S1A1IC COL

51258-10QNS „

... $5,00

51258- SONS.,

.$6.00

51258- 70NS..

$6.50 ;

I ' Fieter than standard

MATH CQ-Proceterore

‘5 year Warranty

fermMuhlft**

2C87-10..

. 1239

2C87-1Z.5 .

$300

2C87-20 .

..$329

lor 8S6 Machines

3C8M6..

$329

3CS7-2Q .„

..$369

3C87-25 ..

..$499

3C80-33...

..$639

CPU CHIPS

8088 ...

$5.00

80286-8,,, .

$49

80286-10.

$59

80286-12 ..

...-*69

80306-18 _

..*160

80386-20 ..

..*240

80386-25 .

$330

V-20 {8MHZJ.

$7.50

Z£MTH 386 WlOmfS

1 MG X 9-10 NS

..*299 |

VIDEO RAM

FOR VGA CARDS

64 x 4(1 SONS) ...

™$5

64X4(12QNS)...

.$7

64X 4(100NS) ...

...*to

MATH-CO ^

Warranty -
1 year on parts

CABLES

IBM PARALLEL <6 >.

. $5.50

IBM PARALLEL {icr)... _

. $12,95

IBM SERIAL (6)M- M ..

_ $9.95

IBM SERIAL (6)M f . ...

..$9,95

CENTRONICS (6) __.

,$12.95

CENTRONICS (iff) „...

..$16.95

HEWLETT- PACKARD
LASERJET MODULES

1 MB (for LaserJet II & 110) ___ $279

2MB (loc LaserJet II 8 110) ...~. ,,,$399

4MB ((or Laserjet II & lip) ... $599

IBM SERIAL CARD .. $18,95

(1501485)

IBM PARALLEL PORT.. $18.95

(1505200)

NO SLOT CLOCK

Cbc* foe PC & XT COmfHJiera
Pkjgs Into empty ROM -Socket on Mol her Board
Accurate l/IOOlh of i second
Only $34.95

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

No Surcharge (or MC / VISA - Term: MO VISA * COO * CASH ■ AMEX tdd 4%
Purchase Orders from quail!led frame * 20% restocking fas on nan-detective returns
Prices Subject to Du nge

VIDEO ADAPTER

ATI TECHNOLOGIES

VGA WONDER 512™ -{S12K video mumor,)
High performance VGA graphics. 100% register-level
compatibility in VGA. EGA, CGA. MDA and Hercules.
Clap lays Sup* -VGA B0GX6Q0 in256 colors and 1024X768
In 16 colon. Switchless fcnstalatfon.

S2XnQAiibJtUI JHQUK- ---

VGA WONDER 256™ -{256K video memory,
user upgradeable) Same as VGA WONDER 812“. except
800X600 kt 16 colore and 1024X766 In 4colore.

VGA EDGE™ • Enhanced VGA graphics card displays
800X600.100% register compatibility in VGA, EGA, CGA,
MDA and Hercules. Switch less installation. Analog and
digital monitor support, ^. ,$230

VIP™ - (VGA Improved Performance) BtOS compatible
VGA graphics curd diepHys BO0X5K3, VGA, EGA, DBA,
MDA and Hercules on analog A digital monitors .$219

EGA WONDER 800+ ■ Versatile EGA graphics
adapter that displays 'Any Software, Any Monitor, Any
Time'. Displays 800X600,640X480, VGA modes 1U12.
EGA. CGA, MDA and Hercules in digitel mode. $199

GRAPHICS SOLUTION™ Affordable com¬
patibility. Ideal entry-level card that displays CGA, Hercu¬
les and Piintronlcfi on TTL Composite and RGB moni¬
es tore, ....*.-... $79

GRAPHICS SOLUTION/0 Same as GRAm-
ICS SOLUTION. Including game pod (no composite sup¬
port) ......... $99

ORCHID

DESIGNER 800 VGA ... . . $229

S00X600-16Cofc.fi

PRODESIGNER VGA _ $319

suppons 1024 X 768 -16 Colon

PRO DESIGNER VGA PLUS ,..,,$399

Same as Prodesigner
Has downloadable ionic

UNITEX

MONOCHROME

GRAPHICS CARD * ... Mi

Wlh Par port ■ MGA7 Hercules

COLORGRAPHICS CARD .............. $41

RGB CokH with Par Port * EGA/ MOW CGA/ Hercules

EGA CARD . $149

540 X 480.16 Cobra. EGA/ MGA/ CGA/ Hercules

VGA CARD ...... ....... $199

600 X 800,16 Cdore.VGA/ EGA/ MGA/ CGA

MODEMS

Everex

Ev&rCom 12 300/1200 bps Btlcom Software . $74

EverCotn 24 2*KJSaud im. BHcom Software .,$139
Etffimil 2400 Baud .. . .....$199

Hayes Compatatble

1290 Baud Internal w/Software .. . . $59

1200 Baud External Fiily Hayes Gompatabte . $99

2400 Baud Internal 1/2 card w/Software . . . $109

2400 Baud External Fully Hayes Compatible ..$129

2 Year Warranty on all items above

254 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Circle 257 on Reader Service Card

MEMORY EXPANSION BOARDS

BOCA RESEARCH

TOPHAT - A16-bK board designed to top out conven¬
tional memory area of the IBM AT(or 16-bit compatible)
from 512K up to 640K. Operates at CPU speeds up to
10MHz using 150NS RAMs. A socketed design enables
purchase with or without memory ... $89

TOPHAT II - TophAT II has 128 soldered on the board
which results In a lower profile. Maintains the ability to
backfill conventional memory from 512 to 640K in a 16-
bit AT type machine. Operates at CPU speeds up to 10
MHz . ._. $129

BOCA RAM/XT - A full length expanded memory
board for the IBM PC, XT. AT and 8-bit PC-bus compali-
ables operating at CPU speeds up to 12 MHz. Uses
standard 256K RAM chip6 and provides up to 2 Meaof
expanded memory ____ $129

BOCA RAM/AT * Conventional expanded and/or ex¬
tended memory for the IBM AT and 16-blt compatibles.
Will operate in systems at speeds up to 16MHz. Uses
standard 150NS RAM chips. Can bringlT conventional
memory up to 640K, provide a maximum 2 Meg of UM
EMS4.0and/or max. 4 Meg of extended memory $149

BOCARAM/AT PLUS - Otters conventional,
expanded anchor extended memory tor the IBM AT and
16-bit compatibles. Operates in a system up to33MHz and
is set up through software, with the configuration stored
in EPROM. Uses 120NS 1 Meg RAM chips. Available in
four configurations, OK up to 8 Meg .. $149

BOCARAM/AT I/O PLUS - Offers conventional,
expanded and/or extended memory as well as other I/O
capabilities for ATs and compatibles. Provides up to 4
Meg of memory using 120NS1 Meg RAM chips, 1 parallel
port and up to 2 serial ports per board .. $189

BOCARAM 30-a fun length expanded memory board
for IBM P&2 models 25,30 and true 8-btt PC-bus com¬
patibles that utilize 31/2* floppy diskettes. The board uses
standard 256K RAM chips and provides up to 2 Meaof
expanded memory per board .. $1 o9

BOCARAM 50Z- 2MG, 0 wait state expanded and/or
extended memory board desioned for IBM PS/2 Models
50. 50Z. 60 and true compatibles. The zero wait design
uses standard IMG 100NS RAM (DRAM) chips.
TRAM(Translatlon RAM) is used to map out bad memory
sections during power-up and to ensure long tern com¬
patibility with OS/2 . $169

BOCARAM 50/60 -Up to 4 MG for model 50-60-0
wait state expanded.extended and base memory.• Uses
IMG D RAM (DIP) . _.$169

IO/XT - extends the peripheral capabifties of IBM PCa.XTs
and compatibles. Connects to an B-bK PC-bus and pro¬
vides one 25-pin parallel port one 9-pln aerial port, an
optional 25-pin aerial port, and a clock/calendar. $59

IO/AT - Expands the peripheral capabilites of IBM PCs,
XTs, ATs. and compatibles by providing a 9-pin serial port
and a 25-pin parallel port. Optional 25-pin serial port also
available for further expansion. Installation of this 8-bit
board Is easy--«lmp!y set the Jumpers and Install. $69

BOCA MCA Parallel Card (tor ps/2) $99
BOCA MCA Serial Card (tor PS/2) ..$169

2 Year Warranty

IBM

1497259 - For PS-2 MOD 5<Y60 ..

. $439

with OK Expands to 8MB

Uses 256K SIMMS (IBM only)
6450605 - For PS-2M0D 70/80.

$1299

with 2 MG Expands to 8 MB

Uses 2MG SIMMS (IBM only)
6450203 - For AT - Has 512K RAM _

$129

UNITEX

3MG Multifunction - tor AT _ $129

Expands to 3MG - has SER/PAR PORT
256K D-RAM

384 Multi-function Card tor pc/xt . $89

Expands to 384Khas SER/PAR/CLKftame pod
Uses 64K O-RAMS

COMPAQ MEMORY

ADD-ON M00ULES

MODEL

IMG

4MG

386/20

$319

$899

386/25

$319

$899

386/20E

$319

$899

386/S

$319

$899

286 E

$319

$899

MEMORY EXPANSION B0AR0S

MODEL

IMG

4MG

388/20E

386 S
386/16

286 E
SLT/286
PORTABLE 388

S47S

$479

$T349

$1349

$1429

$1329

$1429

SMrtlEiiMiioilaaiil

128M

w/16 MG

PORTABLE 386 (1 MG Memory Upgrade) . $479

PORTABLE III UPGRADE KIT

51? K.

_ $m

2 MG .

. MW

2 Year Warranty

ZUCKER MEMORY BD

PS2 - 2MG MB-Upto2MGformicrDchannelPS2and
Compatibles. Uses 256 X 9 SIMM . $49

PS2 - 2 MG Multifunction BO- Upto2 MB- Has serial and
PAR Pod-Software. Uses 256 X 9SIMM . $89

D-RAM TESTERS

UNI-001 RT _

Tests all parameters but speed
64X1 / 256/1 / 1MX 1
64 X 4 / 256/4 / 4MX1

$119

$149.95

UNI-002 RT __

Tests speed plus parameters
64X1 / 256X1 / IMGX1

UNI-003 RT _ $199.95

Tests standard SIMM Modules

1 Year Warranty

ORCHID

RAMQUEST HZ -Up to 2MB of 0 wait state memory for
the IBM PS/2 Models 50,502 & 60 • Guaranteed EMS 4.0
and OS/2 Compatible • Easy 4-keystroke installation. Uses
IMG Dip s ..... $199

RAMQUEST EXTRA -The only mulifunctlon card
that provides up to8MB and two serial pods on one board
tor the IBM PS/2 Models 50,60 and 80. • Guaranteed E MS
4.0 and OS/2 Compatible. • Easy to install with only 4 key
- S._ „...$319

strokes. Uses 256 anrVor 1 MB SIMM'S..

RAMQUEST EXTRA 16/32 The only o smb,
0 wart state card for PS/2 Models 50,50Z, 60,70 and 60
which fully supports both 16-bit and 32-bit memory ac
cess. Includes one serial and one parallel pod plus a free
serial cable. Guaranteed EMS 4.0 and 0&2 compatible. Easy
4-keystroke installation. Uses 256 and/or 1MB SIMM S
.....-. $319

RAMQUEST XT/AT -A full size, 0-8 MB, zero wait
stale card for IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2 25,30 and compat-
abies. Uses 256K and/or 1MB SIMM'S Automatically
supports either 6 or 16-bit bus . $259

RAMQUEST XT/AT with I/O -Same as above
plus 1-serial and 1-parallel pod . $319

ACCELERATORS

TINY TURBO 286 Low-cost High-speed Half-slot
PC/XT -Accelerates your PC/XT with an 8 MHz 80286
Micro processor. 80287 math chip socket .. $239

TINY TURBO XT ra High-speed Hall-slot accelera¬
tor lor PC/XT- Accelerates your PC/XT up to 4.5X faster
with a 12 MHz 80286 microprocessor. 80287 math chip

JET 386-Hyperspeed Accelerator Card for ATs-Acceler¬
ates your AT upto3Xfasterwftha 16MHz.80386.Socket

for math chip ........ $895

2 Year Warranty

EVEREX

RAM 3000 DELUXE -Up to 3 MB. Selectable
memory addresses.Expanded Memory Specifications
(E MS)4.Q/0S/2. Can be usedto backfill base memory up to
640K and the rest as eitherExpanded or Extended or both.
Uses 256K D-RAM . $99.00

RAM 8000-Up to 8MB capacity/supports base, ex¬
tended or expanded memory in any combination. Fully
compatible with Lotus/Intel/ Microsoft EMS 4.0/ EEMS.
Supports multitasking andDMAmultitasking in hardware.
Software configurable (no dip switches to set).Full 16MB
window lor future expansion of Lotus/ Intel/ Microsoft
EMS 4.0. 0 wait states, uses IMG D-RAM (0IP)$279

RAM 10000-Up to 10 MB capeclty/supports base, ex¬
tended or expanded memory In any comnbination. Com¬
patible wlthLotu^Inte/Microsoft EMS 4.0. Operates with
no additional wait states.Uses 1 MG D-RAM (0IP)$179

MINI-MAGIC • (EV138)-Upto 576K . For PC-AT. Uses
256K4 64K . $59

2 Year Warranty

* IBM is the registered trademark of
International Business Machine Corp.

^MEBIGQJSl
lEXRfiESS

Corporate Headquarters
2852 F Walnut - Tustin, CA 92680
Phone: 714/730-5232 • FAX#: 714/838-8593

XJnitex, Inc

Mon-Frl 7am - 5pm
Sat 8am - 2pm

4025 S. Industrial Blvd. - Las Vegas, NV
Phone: 702/732-8689 ~

Customer Service #: 714/730-9527

TOLL FREE OUTSIDE CA: 1/800/533-0055

Circle 257 on Reader Service Card

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Fall 1989 255

4jo an netuter jcrvtct

UNICORN-YOUR I.C. SOURCE

COLLIMATOR PEN

A low power collima¬
tor pen containing a
MOVPE grown gain
guided GaAIAs laser.
This collimator pen de¬
livers a maximum CW
output power of 2,5 mW
at 25 °C

These collimated laser
sources are designed for
Industrial applications
such as data retrieval,

telemetry, alignment etc.

The non-hermetic stainless steel encapsulation
of the pen is specifically designed for easy
alignment in an optical read or write system, and
consists of a lens and a laser device. The lens
system collimates the diverging laser light. The
wavefront quality is diffraction limited.

The housing is circular and precision manufac¬
tured with a diameter of 11.0 mm and an accuracy
between * and -11 ^m.

LlSLBRtC&^BftOO PRICE $39.99

Guafify Components — Low Prices Since 7983

LASER DIODE

Designed for general
industrial low power ap¬
plications such as read-
mg optical discs, optical
memories, bar code
scanners, security sys¬
tems, alignment etc
The gain guided laser
is constructed on a n-
type gallium arsenide
substrate with a Metal

Organic Vapor Phase Epitaxial process (MGVPE).

The device is mounted in an hermetic 30T148D
(diameter 9.0 mm) encapsulation.

The SB1053 is standard equipped with a monitor
diode, isolated from the case and optically coupled
to the rear emitting facet of the laser, This last
responding monitor diode can be used as a sensor
to control the laser optical output level.

USL PRICE $9.99

We Carry A Full Line of Components

CALL FOR FREE CATALOG

EPROMS

STOCK #

PINS DESCRIPTION

124

25 90

100*

1702

256x41m

4 79

4.55

4.10

2700

1024x8 450ns

0.45

5.01

2758

J 024 x3450ns

3.99

3 79

3.41

2718

2048 k 8 450ns \25v)

3.59

341

3.07

2710-1

2048 x8 350ns mi

3.99

3 79

3,41

TMS2718

2048 k 8 450ns

679

645

501

Jim

XW x 8 450m > : 2$v-CMOS\

419

39B

35H

2732

40% j 8450m tfSvJ

379

360

324

2732*2

4tmx 8200m i2U\

399

379

341

27324

4096 k 8250m (21 vi

379

360

324

2732#-4

4096 *8 450ns fflvt

329

3 13

262

TMS2532

4096 x 8 450ns (25v)

5.79

5.50

495

27C32

4096x$450ns(2$v-CM0$)

4.79

455

4 10

270420

2fl

8192 x 3 200ns (21 v)

399

379

3.41

2754

9192* 8250ns mi

359

3.41

307

2J84A20

Bl92K8200ns rt2Svl

3 99

379

341

27644.

BI92x 8 250ns 112.5V)

339

3.41

307

TMSftW

8i92x8250mi25v)

6 70

645

531

27120 20

16.884 k 8200ns (2tv)

079

6.45

5.61

27128

2fl

16.384 x 8250ns (21 v)

579

S 50

496

Z7CI2B

16,384 x 8250ns (21V-CMQS}

5.70

55Q

4.95

m sft-zc

32,768 k 8 200os 025V)

6?g

645

SOI

27258

2 8

32,768x 8250ns (12.5v)

5.23

5.03

4.53

27C256

32, m x 8250ns (125V-CM0S1

599

5.69

512

27512 2D

65,536 x 8200ns (12.5v)

10.43

9.97

0.97

27612

65536 k 8 250ns (125V)

S.49

9 02

fl 12

27CS12

65,536 x 8 250ns n2.5v-CM0S)

9.99

049

6,54

270024

131.072 k 8 200ns tmv-CWSi

27 99

Z6 59 ?3 93

8192 k 8 450ns

1099

1004

16.24

88768

8192k 8450ns

1599

1519

13.67

UNICORN ELECTRONICS

mmm 10010 Ganoga Ave., Unit B-8
Chatsworth, CA 91311
ORDER BY PHONE {toll free]

(800) 824-3432 (OUTSIDE CALIFORNIA}

IN CALIFORNIA (818) 341-8833
ORDER BY FAX (818) 998-7975

256 Fall 1989 * B Y T E IBM Special Edition

THE DXFHandler*

by IMAGEN4T

Tih$ global converter for AutoCAD 10
DXF fifes !

ELIMINATE THE HOURS OF PAINSTAKING LABOR
INVOLVED IN IMPORTING AUTOCAD RELEASE 111
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The "PXFHainHer" was mailed lo tvsoIvc the incompaiibiliiy
of 3-D AutoCAD Release 10 DXF files whh prior versions
d AutoCAD and other CAD packages that accept this neutral
dau translation file {DFX} format.

Nt*. AuhrfViB ti i regmend indent!rk id Aurtai, i.«r

CV CADES A TV (VcnMiI DnifKr ire itfisbutd iridHIWVl ill

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(407) 632-4333 Fax (40?) 632-7632

Circle 141 on Reader Service Card
lDEALERS: 142)

SuperSound

SiHindFX'" Editor

Add SOUND EFFECTS, VOICE,
MUSIC la IBM-PC/XT/ATs from $69.95!

j Rest Digital Audio Sofhvare/Hardivare
SuperStnind - SI mo Version $35? - Mono $239
30 Day Monty-Back Guarantee ff nut Snlisfied

* Wuh StwadFlC - - PriFntib t;UI I GrwpMul Mllnir fcrFMI Rnnil,
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* 31 Function 1 1 Special Jjlft l. V4 I'up Maiiuul h / ] M||i Ul Auriki Tliluriul

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ON TARGET ASSOCIATES

Products and Services

for Design and Manufacturing Engineers,

PS/2

Micro Channel Design Consulting
Prototype Cards
-Newsletter
* ASICs
■ Extender Cards
" Adapter Bracket Sets
Bum- in Mother Boards

We will move your PC/XT/AT products to the
Micro Channel, or create your new design.

CALL; (408) 980-7118
for our Free catalog

ON TARGET
TARGET
TARGET

,.,lhe PS/2 Leaders.

PS/2 bud Micro CIJMifltl ajr trade merles □! IBM Coro.

Circle 194 on Reader Service Card

Advertise your
computer products
through

BYTE BITS

(2" x 3" ads)

For more information
call Mark Stone at
603-924-6830

BITE

One Phoenix Mill Lane
Peterborough, NH 03458

Circle 296 on Reader Service Card

GANG PROGRAMMER Does

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The only programmer under $1000.00 that
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GAHGPRO-fl “ is a sure bet when reliability is
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ft Lauderdale, FL3330S
(305)491-7404

1-800-331-7766

Circle 163 on Reader Service Card
(DEALERS: 164)

Data Acquisition Interlaces

for IBM PC/XT/AT & PS/2

r*Hn vi -u iKSy i wAiWJBf-

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Circle 175 on Reader Service Card

We’ve Built Our Reputation on These Factors for 10 Very Successful Years.

CLONE 386

*1999

20MHz, 32MB HARD DRIVE. 1 MB 0 WAIT
HAM. AND 14" MONOCHROME MONITOR

* 1499
1766
2094
2729

iMHr, 1MB RAM. base tyilam
|M Hi. 1MB RAM. 32K CKhf. tMS* system
■MHz. 1MB RAM. 32K c»the, b#w *y*tem
iMHi. 1MB RAM. 32K cache, batelyetem

LONE 3M STANDARD FEATURES:

Genuine 60386 - 20/25/33 CPU's

1MB F4I1 BWAil Slate RAM CtthtWl some

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iii-gli Performance 1 I Interleave, BDQ Ko/sec
2 Floppy# HO ConlHMter
1 2M 5 25" Ot 1 4AM 3J5" Floppy Drive
J yourcbnice|

101 Key "Click-Taclile" Keyboard
1 Parallel, 1 $enal, 1 Joystick Pori
200/220 Wall Power Supply
BOa07/Weiteh Coprocessor (Except Base
JBMHrl

■On-board ClockVCal WBettery flick up
S Enpanaioo Slots
Setup UlilKy m ROM
System Resal Swilcb on Front Panel
LIM EM-3 4.0 Driver.

CPU Spend SwilCtUbl*

- - ' lo 16MS RAM

CLONE 286

*1279

12MHz, 1MB RAM. base aysW
I EM Hz, IMB HAM, base lytlem

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Novell and 05/2 COmpitiWe
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Clone 386 2QMHi monochrome system pictured,

CLONE 2BE STANDARD FEATURES:

* 1MB F-as1 U Wall Slate RAM

a High Performance IT Inlertaava, 600
Kb /sbc 2 Ffoppy/2 Hard Disk Controller

* 1 2M 5 25" or 1 «W 3 5“ Floppy Drrve
(Your Charnel

e 101 Key Enhanced Keyboard
e 1 Parallel, 1 Serial, 1 Joyalrck Pert,
a 200 Watt Power Supply
e B0287 Main Coprocessor Socket

* Qmboica Gloek/Cef ef/flattery Backup

* a EKpenewm siois

* setup UliMly lb ROM

* System R«*| Switch on From Pflntl

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a Novell Compatible

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a Complete Software Package Including
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Du get a rock-softd one year guaranies on
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Buy wtlh Confidence! Our Guarantee Removes
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CLONE VALUE CHART

CLONE 2B6

MONOCHROME

14"

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14"

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12MHz CPU, 32M.B
40MS SEAGATE HO

S1279

Si 690

91813

19MHz CPU, 32MB
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147S

ISM

2013

Add $20 ter "Cltek/Tactlte" 10f-key Keyboard.
Add $20 Tar 14" Manachrame ManHor.

CLONE

14"

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14"

EGA COLOR

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20MH4 CPU, 32MB
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$199A

$2393

$3518

SdMHi CPU, 3ZK CACHE,
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2299

2693

2810

25 MHr CPU. 32K CACHE,
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280*

2998

3121

33M Hr CPU. 32K CACHE,
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3240

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3757

OPTIONS FOH CLONE 286/386 COMPUTERS:

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Siflr NX'ioooFrirner,

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Slar NX-2400 Printer,

T 70/57 epa, LO, 24 pin... ... 339

Star XR-10OO Printer. 300/70 cps.
NLQ, a lonls. 359

192703 cps. LO, 24 pin -. ■ $349

Panasonic KX-FM1&1 Primer,

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Star X 6-2410 Pouter 240/sQ cps,

super LO, 24 pin, 16 iQhlft . 489

Star XB-24T5 Prinler (same as
above with wide carriage-J . 599

1200/300 baud Int. modem. 89

TURBO CLONE

*699

*awa®>4 77-
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* B0S7 Socket

* TM'WAtl power sup

* 360 K Floppy Drwe

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* Hartuiese compat¬
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■ Hi Re* TTL IrtdnllOr
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a Cfock/Calandai

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Borland Turba C ,

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Bor. Turbo Aasembler/Debugger .

Carbon Copy - I need lwo cop»af

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Copy II PC Option Board Deluxe

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Grsmmsbk III

Microsoft C Compiler 5 1 ,,.

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PC Tools Deluxe 5 5.

ProcORUn PluB.

Sideways

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OTHER MS-DOS

Aige Blaster .

Chess Master 2100 ,

F-1S Siealth FigbL*r .

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Take adnntege 91 ear
and Un a bundle! Buy any 3 Ol
earn an sdOllfonal $3 dlKeunt. B
deduct $4. Buy 5 end deducl $5,

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dBase Ni Plus Handbook ,
Managing Vaur Hard Dial,
MS-DOS Users Qmde
Huivning MS-DOS

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Uamq Managing Your Money .
Using a A A . . .

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nal floppy (8;) conneclof or tne
optional adaptsr card ($77} Comes
complete with inslallalion instruc¬

tions and thedata compression aofi-
wara that allows up to 10OMB data
Etor&ge on a 40MR tape - 1 SOW Bon
a BOMB tape Easy to inslat I, Order
now a! this low price and save.

Limited Time Only! Fantastic Prices Now On

LOW COST HARD DRIVES

For IBM and Tandy

»w3t4»i * 1 d 9 “"'■ <s "' ja * 2 39

HFMkTKII > MntKTKII fcVxvV

^259 Ess^; *369

isu.trx.i

*319 s 419 s 579 s 539 s 639

access herd drives lor yaur It
pstitjio or Tandy compular, Our XT and SCSI
kits are complete with drive, coniruHer, cables
and irtel al latlon instructions. We use only brand
rtew genuine Seagate drives SO you CXh be
easured at long rrouble-lree drive life Data
irsnsr^r t ales as 1 aji fsi 50QK B per second MFM
9QQKS RLL and 1MB us*ig SCSI We provide

aortware la park Ihe heads (same drives seK-
peikl- Timdy moc requites oma and ROM
1.01 - Not Tor EX/HX. Please specify Lho com¬
pute/ brand and model when ordering. $T 506.
4096 and 4144H are f u II size5'. and ST 157R is
3V*" All others ere half herg ht S Sizes listed
are afier rofmartind One year parts and labor
warranty. Satislacrmn guaranteed Or your mon¬
ey beck, less snipping

Save on 32MB & 49MB Hard Cards

^*329 --*429

These units are- complelely assembled with brand new
drives and came ready la install. For IBM XT's, 100<Vfa
compatibles end Tandy IDOO/tOOOA. SL. SX, T,L h TX
Please specify Ihe axact make and model of your
computer One yearpgrtg and lebor wan-Qnty

Circle 46 on Reader Service Card

UNINTERRUPTABLE
POWER SUPPLY

As Low As $ 2 ^ Q

2sq Wait Model

Add *13 tiihpplna In

250 Watt

120 VoH

$ 279

300 Walt

120 Votl

399

500 W&ll

120 Volf

499

600 Walt

120 VOH

639

1200 Wall

120 VoH

1080

1600 Wait

120 Volf

1*44"

* Brownouts

■ Btackoute

■ Overvoltage

* Overload

* SplUs/Surges

* EMI

BNHHd Wler irHqhl eeltecl
Fditur**

» Two Audible Alarm*.

» LED Displays

* Optionel Nelwork. Port

* Transfer Times As Fs*t
As 1 Millisecond (De¬
pends on Model}

Save on Low Cost Floppys!

Sefecl Ihe drive or drives you wanl, pick Ihe enclosure and
appropriate cable and we will assemble and 1*31 *1 no
additional cosl lo you. AH drives are brand new. not factory
iHK&nds, and cany a fun ons year pan and labor warrsniy
Add $5 shipping and handfl ng par driva.

360K 5.25" TEAC MB bare. *69

720K 5.25" TEAC 55F bare , , . . U

1,2M 5.25" T EAC 54FGH bare. ?B

360K 3.5" TEAC 35B bare . , . 59

720K 3.5" TEAC 35F bare , 95

t.44M 3.5" TEAC 35FGH bdre . .79

5.25" mounting bracket for 3.6" drrviH. 10

[indudt* rails, signal and power adspiar Specily barge or

bteck recuplntel

DuH 3.5“ external ewe/powor supply. Use with one Of
iwq 3 5" drivos fhofiiontei) - - - . *43

Dual 5,25" same a* above e^cepi vertical . sa

I DM gk Icniel floppy cable for C/D DB3/ req u ired.. 39

(Add (ID for brushed Siam lees Steel covet 1

SERVING

YOU

SINCE

1980

Rci, U S Pat. OIT,

CLONE COMPUTERS * 2544 W. Commerce St • Box 223957

Dlv. ol Analogy Corp

Dallas, Texas 75222-3957* Telex; 852761 • Fax; 214^634-8303

For professional t&chnicaf assistance
on Clone products, call 214-638-8826.

Uy Ckrni CompuHn, An riQhl* rwnratf. Print*
wllhpui nollefl. All prices are In U ,5. baiters P<ym*n(» mm

<^>

mmc

MODULAR
ADAPTER KITS

Turn any P-Suh port into a modular jack
to either RJ-11 or RM5.

MA9MC

WA9FG

MA15M-6

MA15F-6

MA25M-6

MA25F-6

MA9M-8

MA9F 8

MA15MB

MA1SF-B

MA25MS

MA25F B

9 mate to RJ-11
9 female to FU-11
15 mate to RJ-11
15 female to RJ-11
25 mate to RJ-11
25 female to RJ-11
9 mate to RJ-45
9 female to RJ-45
15 mate to RJ-45
15 female to RJ-45
25 mate to RJ-45
25 female le RJ-45

$2.40
2.40
2.80
2. BO
2.40
2.40
2.80
2*80
3.20
3-20
2.80
2*80

COAXIAL BALUNS

These batons come with RJ-11 lack Si
screw terminals.

BL01 BMC 10 RJ-11 S S t. $7.58

8 LOS Twinax to RJ-11 & s,|. 15.09
BL07 0NC-TNC Wane baton 25.45

MODULAR PLUGS

MMM 4 pto handset plug 4x4
MP-4 4 pin RJ-11 plug: 4x6
MP-6 6 pin RJ-12 plug 6x5
MP-B 5 pin RJ-45 plug 8x8

MODULAR
CRIMPING TOOLS

MET-04M MP-4M handset $12.95

MtT-OG WIP-4 & MP-6 12,95

MET-00 MP-5 12.95

MODULAR WIRE

M8M 4 conductor $48/1800 It.

M¥f-6 6 conductor 55/1000 ft,

MW-S B conductor 83/1000 ft.

TO ORDER CALLdffJ 1 (800) 531-5369

SWITCHBOXES

Heavy metaJ cases All temate connections.

Dfi-25 25 Line

AB25-2 2 Way

$19*95

A925-3

3 Way

23*95

A B 25-4

4 Way

26.95

AA25-5

5 Way

37.95

AB25-G

6 Way

49.95

A825-X

X-Over

27.95

Centronics 36 Line

AB3G-2

2 Way

$21*95

A 936-3

3 Way

28.95

A836-4

4 Way

33*95

A936-S

5 Way

44.95

AB36-X

X-Over

36,95

AB09-2

DE-9 9 Line

2 Way

$19.95

A 809 4

4 Way

29.95

A88N-2

BNC Coaxial

2 Way

23.95

ABBN-4

4 Way

29.95

Modular RJ-11 & 45

ABRJ11-2

2 Way

$18.95

ABRJ114

4 Way

28.95

ABRJ45-Z

2 Way

19.95

ABRJ45-4

4 Way

29.95

ABIWX-2

Twin-Axial

2 Way

531.95

ABTWX4

4 Way

38.95

MODULAR

Wall Plates

MWPE1 6 conductor 1 Jack $1.46

MWP6-2 5 conductor 2 jacks 2.20

MWPO-1 8 conductor 1 jack 1.4B

MWP8-2 8 conducted 2 jacks 2.78

Surface Mount Jacks

SM-6 6 conductor $1,48

SM-8 8 conductor 2*46

Cord Couplers

CC-GC 6 conductor $.94

CE-8E B conductor 1.30

Patch Panels

Modular jacks to 50 pin mate telco con¬
nectors. 19" rack mountable
PP44B RJ-11 48 port $122

PP64B RJ 12 4B port 135

FW4I RJ-45 48 port 138

Harmonicas

Modular Jacks to 50 pin male leteo con¬
nector

4W-12P 4 wire 12 port $16

6W-8P 6 wfre 8 port 16

BW-GP 8 wire 6 pert 16

Octopus Cables

50 pin female telco connector to modular
plugs

4W-12L 4 wire 12 teg, 6ft. $41

6W-8L 6 wire 8 teg. 6ft. 40

BW-61 a wire 6 teg, 6ft. 39

PARALLEL
PRINTER CABLES

0B25 to Centronics

PPC301-6

6 ft,

$6.85

PPC36M0

10 ft.

7.95

PPC301-15

15 ft.

11.95

PPC301-20

20 ft.

14*95

PPC301-25

25 ft.

17.95

PPC301-6RA

Rl, Angle

12.95

PPE301-1QRA

ftl. Angle

14.95

PPC3D1-6D

Diablo

14,95

DB-25 CABLES

All 25 line wired straight through.

Male to Male

25MM-6

25MM-1Q

25MM-15

25MM-20

25MM-25

25MM-50

25MM-10D

6 ft.
10 ft
15 ft.
20 ft.
25 ft.
50 ft.
1DD ft.

Male to Female

ZSMF-6

25MF-10

25MF-15

25MF20

25MF-25

25MF-5Q

25MF-1U0

6 ft,
10 ft
15 ft.
20 ft.
25 ft,
50 ft,
100 ft

$6,95

7.95

11.95

14.95
17*95

33.95
62*95

$6.95

7.95

11.95

14.95

17.95

33.95

62.95

CENTRONICS
36 PIN CARLES

Male to Male

6 ft S7.95

36MM 10 10 ft, 9.95

36MM-1S 15 f| 12.95

36MM 20 20 ft. 14*95

36MM-25 25 ft 17.95

Male to Female

36MF-6 6 ft $7.95

36MF16 10 ft. 9.95

36MF-15 15 ft 12.95

36MF-20 20 ft 14.95

36MF-25 25 ft. 17.95

TWINAXIAL

CONNECTORS

9091

9083

9085

male

female splice
chassis mount feed Ihru
T-connector ail female
100 ohm terminator

BNC CONNECTORS

Male Solder Type

9021 tor RG-58 $1.27

9020 for RG-59. 62 1,27

9025 for FIG-59. 62 teflon 2,18

Male Crimp Type-3 Pc.

9101 for RG-58
9100 for RG-59. 62
9103 for teflon-ptenum c

Male Crimp Type-2 Pc.

$1.18

1,00

1,18

9001

for RG-58

for RG-59. 82

for RG-59, 62 teflon

$1.36

1.36

9009

Female Crimp Type-2 Pc.

9014 tor RG-58 $1*45

9003 for RG-59. 62 1.45

9015 for RG-59. 62 teflon 1*45

Male Twist On Type

9051 for RG-58
9050 for RG-59. 62
9054 for RG-59. 62 teflon

$1*27

1*18

1,36

Female Twist On Type

9031 for RG-58 $2.18

9053 for RG-59. 62 1,64

9033 fur RG-59, 62 teflon 2,18

8140 2 female i male

8141 all female

8142 all mate

Terminators

9000 50 ohm
9007 75 ohm
9093 98 ohm

SZ.1B

2*18

Adapters

7430 female splice $1*27

8130 male splice 2.80

8470 chassis mount feed thru 2.73

8460 Bulkhead receptrcal .82

8150 light angle 3*27

TRIPPLITE

Complete Battery
Back-Up Systems

200 wan
325 watt
450 waft
750 watt
1200 watt
BC-12D0LAN 1200 waft
BE-2006 2000 watt

BC-4000 4000 waft

TRIPPLITE

Line Stabilizer/Conditioners

LS-600 600 Waft, 5 amp
2 Outlets

LC-1200 1200 Wart. ID Amp,

2 Circuits, 4 Outlets
LC-IBOO 1800 Waft, 15 Amp,

3 Circuits. 6 Outlets

139*06
IBB.00

COAX

Crimping Tools

HT-301A

HT-3618

CT-B858

ET-8859

58, 59. 62 - 3pc
174, 58. 6 - 3pc.
2$3pc 53 & 59,
62 teflon

2S3pc. RG-59, 62

Stripping Tool

$29.95

29.95

29*95

29.95

CE3

CST-7735 strips 58, 58, 62
coaxial cables

$15,95

1-3

Altex Electronics, Inc.

Call for Volume Discounts

Mail Order Dept., 300 Breesport, San Antonio, TX 78216 - (512) 349-8795;

FAX:

Fax: 1-512-344-2985 TERMS

* MC, VISA, AMEX, DISCOVER welcome

* Actual Freight charges apply

* C.B.D, add COD charges

* Orders under $100 add 3.00 handling

onn end nen * 0pen KCDUnts wtth app™«
1-BUU-3J1 -DJbU * Most orders ship same day

1 -512-344-2985 * [£■ on connKtars ls 25 '

258 Fall 1989 • B Y T E IBM Special Edition

Circle 12 on Reader Service Card

Circle 85 on Reader Service Card

Circle 143 on Reader Service Card

TtiE GENERAL STORE
RETAIL OPERATIONS SYSTEM

The premier system for retail store management.
Supports cash drawers, barcode readers, receipt
printers, customer displays, digital scales arid
complete online credit card authorization, Controls
all lypes of retail stores bath hardgoods and apparel
with complete size/color matrix management and
reporting. Easy to Install and use. Field proven for
speed and reliability. Provides all Ihe features
needed for today's retail rnerchanl at a price far
below comparable systems. Demo system available.

Accounts Receivable
Point of Sale
Inventory Control
ccounts Payable
General Ledger
Mailing List

...Mutlluser/Wetwork Ready...

$995 Complete system

Dealer inquires, invited.

Crichlow Data Sciences, Inc.

(004) 471-0500

P.0. Bo* 6420 - Virginia Beach, VA 23456

Circle 75 on Reader Service Card

For data with a
9-track mind.

Wenildn'l H be nip: 0 ill
ihe compunets ifi Lbc world
all spoke the same
language

Sony folk*, thmii put rat
the way things are in ih*
real work!., ia wc.'vr ronx
up w.rh a more

rr\ | r, Ji'd’ approach VoLI

give LLJ VL’ur data., tell us
wren; it came from and
where you need it id go

and we'li get it Ox HE.

We are very talented and
^prak many languages, SO
/nryaurnwti pr-M oftrund
call ur today and Let us
take cue of your dam
Lur.versia n headirjm.'

DataCopy

SERVICE OF TEXAS

Circle 76 on Reader Service Card

PORTABLE BACK-UP OVER RS-232
32 Megs - “Plug and Run 1 '

With MS-DOS Driver

* MULTIPLE PC BACK UP WITH SINGLE EASI
TAPE SYSTEM

• NO SPECIAL ADD IN" PC CARDS NEEDED

* NO SPECIAL BACK UP SOFTWARE NEEDED

* RS232 INTERFACE

• PRICE IS $1235 IN SINGLE QUANTITIES

# OPTIONAL 488, 8 BIT PARALLEL, 485, 422,
INTERFACES AVAILABLE FOR USE IN DATA
LOGGING APPLICATIONS.

28 other systems with storage from 100K lo 42 megabytes

" analog a digital peripherals, inc.
25 S South WuSKfry St Tray. Onto 4537:3
PQBg*4B9 TWfc 410-440-3W5

/ 513.‘3ag-22at FAX SI 3.333-0070

Circle 16 on Reader Service Card

Turn your old XT/AT
into a WAR PSPEED/386

* Intel 16 MHz 80386 5X

* Socket for Intel 80387 S

* Shadow RAM Support

* 8 Expansion Slots 6-16 bits, 2-8 bits

* I/O Speed at K MHz in use existing cards
4 Interleave w/IMb RAMI

* Fully AT Compatible

386SX Mother Board

1(800) 627-6998

Circle 132 on Reader Service Card

SKI & LEARN FRENCH!

Full-lime & Part-Lime work all over Europe
from 2 Swiss Alps base while you fine-tune
hardware installations a ltd train operators!

loin a young, dynamic team with one foot in the
UK and Ihe other in Switzerland this season.
Train* leant and progress in. many business
skills, sports and cultural areas,

* PC Hardware Application & LAN
Support Engineers

* FW 131, DBase IV, \fcntura
&/or Pagemaker -
Software support specialists

* Desk Top Publishing,

Graphic Designer/Artists

Applications are requested For exceptional and
ambitious people, flexible about working hours
and ihe balance between compensation and the
quality of life.

For more information., first Fax (821 26 1042)
ur mall your brief typed CV with full phone
contact details, passport style photo if possible,
and handwritten cover letter to:

THOR BURN & ASSOCIATES
POB 1225, 1001 LAUSANNE. SWITZERLAND

Circle 248 on Reader Sendee Card

LASER

TONER

• HP LaserJet 2 & 2D

• CANON 2

• HP LaserJet Plus & 500+

• CANON LPB
•APPLE LaserWriter

Ricoh Toner Kit 80 “CALL”
Ricoh OPC 80,81 150 H39^

Quine Toner

KYOCERA F1000A, F1010
BROTHER LPtO
UNISYS 37

BYTE IBM Special Edition * Falll989 259

E/EPROM & MICRO
PROGRAMMER

$895

IEP-II40 includes: software, cable, user's
manual, 2 free software update coupons,
toll-free technical support, one-year warran¬
ty & a unconditional 30-day money back
guarantee

I Programs 24-, 28-, 32- & 40-pin E/EPROMs
I Supports 874X & 875X series

microcontrollers

I Connects to a standard parallel port
I 32-pin model, EP-II32, available for $695

The Engineer's Programmer™

CALL TODAY 800-225-2102

ppr

Dl MICROSYSTEMS

10681 Haddington, #190, Houston, TX 77043
713/461 -9436 FAX 713/461-7413

How to Protect
Your Computer

And Make It Last Longer

FREE money-making literature. What you need to
know about UPS — uninterruptible power systems.
How to get complete protection from power line
problems 350 VA to 15 KVA models from the
world s largest manufacturer of single-phase UPS.
Best Power Technology, Inc.

P.O Box 280. Necedah. WI 54646

Toll-Free (800) 356-5794, ext. 3756

(608) 565-7200. ext. 3756

DYNAMIC

SIMM 80/100

1 MBIT 100ns

514256ioons
41464 150ns
41256 120ns
41256 150ns
51258 100ns
4164 150ns

• For hiy-speed. Zip, Plcc, &nm

RAMS

$CALL
$11.00
$11.50
$ 3.75
$ 3.35

$ 4.00

Floase Call ,

■ MATH COPROCESSORS
80387-33 33otH2 $560 00
80387-25 2 &t»K2 $455 00

80387-20 2l*nHi $360.00
80387-16 l&irtr $306 00
80387SX
80C287A 12m* lr $275 00
80287-10 lOmrtt $209 00
80207-8 $186.00

8087-1 lOnHt $160 00

8087-2 frnHi $125.00

27C10I 250re

27C512 200'S

27312 250m

27C256 250*®

27256 250rai

27128A 2500*

7/C64A :-00(3

2781 ZSOS

I CPU

V-30 8TVKJ

V20 6,'IOmKi

$ 23 00 I
$ 13 00 I
S 8 00 I
% 5.25 I
S 4 73 I
% 4 50 V
$ 4 25 I
5 3 30 I

I.C. EXPRESS

Circle 41 on Reader Service Card

Circle 28 on Reader Service Card

Circle 138 on Reader Service Card

The ideal Keyboard covert

Protect your computer and eliminate down¬
time caused by liquid spills, contaminants,
environmental hazards, etc. with viziflex
SEELS - the only keyboard cover that:

• Remains securely In-place during the
operation of the keyboard and will not
interfere with computer performance in
anyway.

• is designed to "form-fir to the exact con¬
tours of the keyboard to provide superior
tactile sensitivity & feel for individual keys.

• Consists of Ultraflex™ material, a trans¬
parent, flexible "film" which allows all
"markings" to be clearly visible.

viziflex SEELS are the only keyboard covers
for your computer!

[ 16 E Lafayette St Hackenuck, NJ 07601

□1

Circle 263 on Reader Service Card

r RA&

r TURBODISC

HIGH SPEED, 10 MAPPED
RAMDISK FOR THE PC/AT™

• Replaces a Hard Disk in PC/AT"*
Applications.

• From 2 to 12 MB of SIMM Memory in 2 MB
Increments

• Memory is Mapped to I/O Space. Hot
Memory Space

• Ramdisk Access Time Less Than
2 Microseconds

IBM PC/AT is a trademark of
International Business Machines, Inc.

Computer Modules. Inc.

2348C WALSH AVENUE/SANTA CLARA. CA 95051

TEL: (408) 496-1881 FAX: (408) 496-1886

Circle 62 on Reader Service Card

PROMPT DELIVERY!!!

SAME DAY SHIPPING (USUALLY)

QUANTITY ONE PRICES SHOWN for SEPT. 10. IMS

OUTSIDE <

DYNAMIC RAM

■ SIMM • Kxih

80 ns $325.00

SIMM

1 Mx9

70 ns

170.00

V s

P» SIMM '?i

1Mx9

80 ns

135.00

V 5

E xm simm

256Kx9

100 ns

45.00

1Mbit

IMxl

100 ns

12.50

41256

256KX1

60 ns

6.75

■ 41256

256Kx1

80 ns

4.75

Cf rf

PM41256

256Kx1

100 ns

3.65

41256

256Kx1

120 ns

3.30

E&H4464

64Kx4

120 ns

4.50

7®

41264 )3,

64Kx4

120 ns

9.65

® s

EPROM

►332701000

128Kx8

200 ns

$22.00

w5m 27512

64Kx8

200 ns

7.95

El 27256

32Kx8

150 ns

6.95

SIC

■jgl 27128

16Kx8

250 ns

4.50

STATIC RAM

ft3 62256f> - ;

i 32Kx8

100 ns

$17.95

cf 8

■ 6264P i:■

8Kx8

120 ns

5.50

^^61 1 6 ap

2Kx8

120 ns

4.50j

« «A

OPEN 6'/» DAYS. 7 mam-10 pm SHIP VIA FED-EX ON SAT.

I SAT DELIVERY
INCLUDED ON
FEO-EX OROERS
RECEIVED BY:

IN U Hfill
NN IHJS1*

MasterCard VISA or UPS CASH COD

Circle 181 on Reader Service Card

Genuine Sony® Branded

3.5“ DS/DD (1.0 MB) Disks

♦I * OKr n

L^tT-LJ

82C Less than 200 £

SB-2DD (50 branded disks per box)

3.5” DS/HD Disks MFD-2HD ( 2.0 MB)

$2.39/Disk

Toll Free: 1-800-258-0028

Free Catalog. Foreign Inquiries Invited.
Min. Order $25. S&H: $4.00, first 100 or fewer disks.
$3.00. each addl 100 or fewer disks. Ml resid. add 4%
tax. COD: (add'l $5.50) payment with cash. cert,
check or money order. Prices Subject to Change.

Precision Data Products™

P.O. Box 8367, Grand Rapids. Ml 49516
313-645-4980 • 616-452-3457

FAX: 616-452*4914

■S.

DUAL PORT MODEM

Don’t Monopolize
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Two RS-232 Serial Ports
Only 5 5 " x 4.2" Hayes Compatible
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ftft BUY DIRECT and SAVE S
DEALER PRICING AVAILABLE

/yjer

-/ MICRO ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGIES
35 South St. Hopkinton MA 01748
(800)766-7466 FAX(508)435-6481

Circle 177 on Reader Service Card

SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS:
Are Your Products Too
Hafa To Install?

INSTALL 2.31 Is an automatic installation
program you can distribute—royalty free—
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If you write or publish software, IN¬
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INSTALL offers over 3 years of proven
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HC4 Box 185-H, Canyon Lake. TX 78133
1-800-331-2783 MC/VISA/COD/PO

1-512-964-3994 (International)

1-512-964-3958 (24-hr FAX) $149.95

Circle 213 on Reader Service Card

Circle 156 on Reader Service Card

BEST-386/25 W/ 387/25 $4,895.00

"CAD/CAM WORKSTATION SPECIAL"

SI 28.7 LM 36.7

80386 25 MHz system board w/32 KB static cache

80387 25 MHz Math Co-processor INCLUDED
4 MB SIMM RAM

ATI VGA Wonder card/512K 1024 X 768 res.

ATI Bus Mouse

NEC 3D Multisyn Color Monitor 1024 X 768 res.

5.25* 1.2 MB floppy drive (Teac)

3.5* 1.44 MB floppy drive (Teac)

90 MB SCSI hard disk

SCSI Host Adaptor

Floppy drive controller

2 serial. 1 parallel and 1 game port

Tower case w/275 W power supply

101 Enhanced keyboard

MS DOS 4.01, GW Basic

AMI BIOS with full MS-DOS. OS/2. SCO Xenix

Novell, 3COM and PCNET compatibility

LCD PORTABLE System

640 X 200 $1,495

640 X 400 $1,645

EGA COMPATIBLE $1,845

CRT PORTABLE System

MONOCHROME $1,375
EGA COMPATIBLE $1,525

BEST-386/20 Tower System $2,995.00

SI 23.0 LM 22.6

80386 20 MHz system board

1 MB SIMM RAM 100ns

Super 16 Bit VGA card 800 X 600 res. (Tatung)

14" Color Multisyn Monitor 800 X 600 res. (Tatung)

Clock calendar with battery backup
5.25" 1.2 MB tloppy drive (Teac)

3.5" 1.44 MB tloppy drive (Teac)

80 MB hard disk (Seagate ST-4096 28ms)

1:1 interleave Hard disk/Floppy drive controller

2 serial, I parallel and 1 game port
Tower case w/275 W power supply
101 Enhanced keyboard

MS DOS 4.01. GW Basic
Support 80387. Weitek Math Co-processor
AMI BIOS with lull MS-DOS. OS/2. SCO Xenix
Novell. 3COM and PCNET compatibility

BEST-286/16 Laptop System $2,645.00

BEST-286/12 Laptop System $2,495.00

286/16 (286/12) MHz 0 wait system board

l MB RAM expandable to 8 MB

10.25* Gas Plasma Screen (720 X 400 res.. 4 level gray)

EGA compatible with external adaptor

1.44 MB Floppy drive

40 MB Hard disk 25ms (Connor)

1 serial, 1 parallel ports

85 key tactile keyboard w/ external keyboard connector

MS DOS 4.01. GW Basic

Size: 15* X 14.25* X 3.5* Weight: 16 lbs.

30 DAYS MONEY BACK GUARANTY

ONE YEAR P/L WARRANTY'

CALL FOR QUANTITY' PRICE

5017 Telegraph Road
Los Angeles. CA 90022

Tel: (213) 265-0900
Tech: (213) 265-0300
Fax: (213) 265-4234

Toll: (800)034-7920

Outside Cal.

OtoJU C*rd Sublet ID S*rvw Chare*

Mon.-Fri. 8:00 - 6:00 Sat. 9:00 - 6:00 Pacific Time

PRICE A SPEC ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE

To Order Call 1-800-634-7920

Circle 27 on Reader Sendee Card

DFI -300

ETHERNET CARD

USE TNI S LOW-COST N£ TWQRK CARD WITH
JUST ABOUT AMY LAN SOFTWARE DESIGNED
FOR ETHERNET PROTOCOLS.

- 100% HARDWARE COMPATIBLE WITH
NOVELL NE-1000 ETHERNET CARD ■ COMPAT¬
IBLE WITH THICK OR THIN ETHERNET ■ 15 PIN
ETHERNET CONNECTOR - BNC CONNECTOR
FOR THIN ETHERNET ■ INCLUDES ADDITIONAL
DRIVERS FOR OPTIONAL CONFIGURATIONS
0 FI NET-300

2SMH2 386 CACHE

THE MCT-M3SS USES MEMORY INTERLEAVING FOR NEAR
ZERO WAIT STATES, CLEANLY DESIGNED MOTHERBOARD
HAS A 5 LAVER PCS FOR QUIET OPERATION.

- SOCKETED FOR M3S7 COPROCESSOR - lSMHZtfOMHZ
SELECTABLE SPEEDS * USES SONS 256K OR 1 MB SlP RAMS

■ 10MB RAM CAPACITY. 8MB ON BOARD. SMB USING
OPTIONAL RAM CARD (OKB INSTALLED) * STANDARD XT
HOLE SPACING - FIVE 10-BIT SLOTS. TWO BIT SLOTS, ONE
32-BiT SLOT FOR PROPRIETARY RAM CARD • AMI BIOS

■ MEASURES 8.5* X 13*

MCT-M3B6-20

MCT-M386-M BMB RAM CARD. OKB INSTALLED $149.95

THIS RACEHORSE 3B0 COMBINES MEMORY CACHING AND MEMORY
INTERLEAVING TO REACH 95% CACHE HIT RATIO FOR NEAR ZERO
WAITS.

• 25MHZ 00386 - SOCKETED FOR 80307 OR WEITEK 3167 COPROCES¬
SORS - ISMHZaSUHZ SELECTABLE SPEEDS • INTEL B2365 CACHE
CONTROLLER Vif 32KB FLEXIBLE CACHE MEMORY - CHIPS AND
TECHNOLOGY CHIPSET ■ USES SONS OR 60NS SlP RAM ■ e5"Xl3“

- STANDARD XT HOLE SPACING - FOUR IB-BIT SLOTS, THREE 8’BIT
SLOTS, ONE K-BIT SLOT FOR PROPRIETARY RAM CARD • AMI BIOS
MCT-C3&6-25

MINIATURE UPRIGHT LETS
YOU PUT YOUR CPU WHERE
YOU WANT rT

- SMALL FOOTPRINT ()2*H X
1S h LX0 h W) • COMPATIBLE

MOTHERBOARDS
■ ROOM FOR 6 INTERNAL
EXPANSION CARDS

- HOLDS THREE 5 2S*
DRIVES AND ONE 3.5* DRIVE
(HALF HEIGHT; * ZOO WATT
POWER SUPPLY - 2- DIGIT
LED SPEED DISPLAY

- FRONT MOUNTED POWER-
ON, RESET AND TURBO
SWITCHES. KEYLOCK

* LEDS FOR HARD DISK,
TURBO AND POWER'ON
CASE-120

£ MODULAR CIRCUIT TECHNOLOGY

4800/2400 BAUD $44(1
FAX/DATA MODEM

A 2400/4000 BAUD COMBINED DAT A/FAX MODEM FOR LESS
THAN MOST 2400 BAUD DATA MODEMS ALONE* BY SACRI¬
FICING THE FAX RECEIVE FUNCTION WE CAN OFFER THIS
REMARKABLE PRICE|

■ 4800 BAUD FAX TRANSMISSION CAPABILITY TO ANY
GROUP III FAX MACHINE ■ 2400 BAUD V 22BI5 DATA MODEM

- XT/AT COMPATIBLE HALF CARD - CONVERTS DOS TEXT,
PCX, AND TIFF FILES FOR FAX GROUP III TRANSMISSION

- EASY TO USE MENU DRIVEN SOFTWARE ■ PHONE BOOK

■ MULTIPLE FAX TRANSMISSIONS TO GROUPED
ADDRESSES - INCLUDES PROFAX FAX SOFTWARE
MCI FAXM

NEED A THIRD OR FOURTH DRIVE CONTROLLER FOR
YOUR AT? TRY THIS ONE'

- USE WITH EXISTING CONTROLLER CARDS IN SYSTEM

- XT OR AT COMPATIBLE - INTELLIGENT CONTROLLER
KNOWS HOW MANY FLOPPY DRIVES ARE INSTALLED AND
AUTOMATICALLY ASSIGNS DRIVE LETTERS WITHOUT
RESETTING SYSTEM DIP SWITCH * SUPPORTS 1 44MB,

1,2MB, 72W AND miK FLOPPY DRIVES (ANY COMBINATION)

MCT'FDC-HD

MCT-FDC-HD4 4 DRIVE VERSION $59.95

ROOMY CASE WILL HOLD
ALL YOUR PERIPHERALS!

- SPACE FOR T1 HALF
HEIGHT DRIVES OR 3 FULL
HEIGHT AND 5 HALF HEIGHT

* 5 EXPOSED DRIVE BAYS
FOR FLOPPYOR TAPE
DRIVES ■ HINGED FRONT
DRIVE PANEL RESTRICTS
ACCESS TO FLOPPY DRIVES

- KEYLOCK, TURBO AND
RESET SWITCHES

- LED SPEED DISPLAY (Z
DIGITS) - HARD DISK AND
POWER-ON LEGS ■ 2SD
WATT POWER SUPPLY

* 2ND FAN FOR ADDITIONAL
COOLING - HINGED SIOE
PANEL FOR QUICK ACCESS

- STEEL CASE W/KOLLERS

CASE-200

THIS DUAL FIXED FREQUENCY MONITOR UTILIZES A SONY
TRINITRON TUBE WITH A SINGLE ELECTRON GUN INSTEAD
OF THE USUAL THREE TO OBTAIN REMARKABLY WELL
FOCUSED IMAGES AND EXCEPTIONALLY VIVID COLORS

- 14* NON GLARE SCREEN * ULTRA HIGH RESOLUTION
(1024 X ?60 MAX | - SUPER-FINE 26 MM DOT PITCH

■ compatible With esi4A, vga and mcga adapters
HAVING PGA. EGA, CGA AND HIGH RES DISPLAY MODES

■ AUTOMATICALLY ADJUSTS TO DISPLAY MODE

- TILT SWIVEL BASE

CM-1430

THE NUMERIC KEYPAD ON THIS ENHANCED KEYBOARD
DOUBLES AS A CALCULATOR. COMPLETE WITH MEMORY
AND TILT UP LCD DISPLAY.

- SPACE SAVING 101 KEY KEYBOARD DESIGN - TACTILE
FEEDBACK - 12 FUNCTION KEYS - XT, AT AND PS/2
COMPATIBLE - SOLAR POWERED MUIT1-FUNCTION
BUSINESS CALCULATOR WITH MEMORY FUNCTIONS

FC-3GG1

Circle 6 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS: 7)

BYTE [BM Special Edition

microcomputer

MARKETING COUNCIL

MirtMii'G AssotiMm It

hh njg ^ m ^ rf Ut; Israel MiirtjiLng. I

JDR Microdevices

30 OA Y MONEY BACK GUARANTEE • 1 YEAR WARRANTY ON ALL PRODUCTS • TOLL-FREE TECHNICAL SUPPORT

new

CALL FOR FREE CATALOG!

fHfCRQDEVICE3 LOGO APE TRADEMARKS OF JOfl MICRUDEVICE-S. IBM. PS 'i Aflt 1RADEWAfmS OF wTERnaTKJNAL SuSiMESS MaCh|m£6 (||f JDR M«CROO£ViCES.

2400 BAUD
MODEM
$gg95

• HAYES COMPATIBILITY

• AUTO DIAL'ANSWER

• SELF TEST ON POWER UP

• FULL AND HALF DUPLEX

• TOUCHTONE OR PULSE DIALING • 2ND PHONE JACK

PRO-241

DFI HANDY SCANNER—400 DPI

$ 199 9S

• QUICKLY SCANS UP TO 4.1"

WIDE IMAGES • 100. 200. 300.

400 DPI BOTH DIRECTIONS • B4W &

3 HALF-TONE MODES • 32 LEVELS OF
GRAYSCALE • HERCULES. CGA. EGA AND VGA COMPATIBLE

• INCLUDES HALO DPE AND IMAGE EDITOR SOFTWARE

HS-3000

OCR-SOFT CHARACTER RECOGNITION SOFTWARE $99.9

UPRIGHT

CASE

$20095

SPACE SAVING DESIGN HOLDS ALL SIZES
OF MOTHERBOARDS AND INCLUDES

• 250W POWER SUPPLY • MOUNTS
FOR 3 FLOPPY 4 4 HARD DRIVES

• TURBO 4 RESET SWITCH • LED SPEED
DISPLAY • POWER 4 DISK LED'S

• ALL HARDWARE. FACEPLATES 4 SPEAKER

CASE-100

CASE-FLIP FOR 8088 MB'S $39.95

CASE-SLIDE FOR 8088 MBS $39.95

CASE-70 FOR 286 MB'S $89.95

CASE-50 FOR MINI 286 MB'S $59.95

CASE-JR MINI 286 W/150W PS $149.95

DFI SERIAL MOUSE

• 3-BUTTON OPTO-MECHANICAL

•200 D P I. • 5-1/2' CABLE jA

• USES SERIAL PORT COM 1/2

• INCL. SOFTWARE DRIVERS

DMS-200E

MOUSE 4 HALO-DPE SOFTWARE

DMS-200 $59.95

|b- LOGITECH MICE

* -THREE-BUTTON SERIES 9
inp'TrPH • 320 DPI RESOLUTION
LUI/II lUn . SERIAL PS/2 COMPATIBLE.

LOG C9 SE RIAL MOUSE

LOGC9-P SERIAL MOUSE WITH PAINTSHOW
LOGC9-PBL SERIAL MOUSE WITH PUBLISHER
LOGC9-PC SERIAL MOUSE WITH PAINT/CAD
LOGB9 BUS MOUSE

LOGB9-P BUS MOUSE WITH PAINTSHOW
LOGB9-PBL BUS MOUSE WITH PUBLISHER
LOGB9-PC BUS MOUSE WITH PAINT/CAD

$3995

$98.95

$109.95

$149.95

$154.95

$89.95

$104.95

$139.95

$149.95

NEW LOW

VGA PR,CES!

COMPATIBLE
PACKAGE $4QQ

• 720 X 540 MAX RESOLUTION. 640 X 480 IN 16 COLORS
528 X 480 RESOLUTION IN 256 COLORS • IBM STYLE MONITOR

• VGA. EGA. CGA. AND MGA COMPATIBLE
VGA-PKG {INCLUDES VGA CARD AND MONITOR)

VGA MONITOR

$359

• 14" ANALOG VGA • GLARE RESISTANT SCREEN • 720 X 480

• TILT/SWIVEL BASE • FRONT MOUNTED POWER SWITCH

VGA-MONITOR

REUSYS MULTISYNCH $429

• FULL FEATURED MULTISCAN MONITOR WITH UNLIMITED
COLORS • BOO X 560 RESOLUTION. 14" NON-GLARE DISPLAY

• AUTO SWITCHING • TTL/ANALOG VIDEO INPUT

JDR-MULTI

EGA SPECIAL! CARD & MONITOR-JUST $479 g

EGA-MONITOR U"RGB MONITOR
JDR-RGB 14" RGB MONITOR TILT/SWIVEL BASE
JDR-MONO 12" TTL MONOCHROME GREEN
JDR-AMBER 12" TTL MONOCHROME-AMBER

QUALITY
KEYBOARDS

$59.95
$64.95

ENHANCED KEYBOARDS:

BTC-5339 AUTOSENSE FOR XT/AT. AUTOREPEAT $69.95
K103-A AUDIBLE "CLICK" STYLE $84.95

MAX-5339 MAXI SWITCH W/TACTILE FEEDBACK $84.95

STANDARD KEYBOARDS:

BTC-5060 AUTOSENSE FOR XT/AT
MAX-5060 W/TACTILE FEEDBACK

MODULAR CIRCUIT TECHNOLOGY

DRIVE CONTROLLERS:

MCT-FDC
MCT-FDC-HD
MCT-HDC
MCT-RLL
MCT-FH
MCT-AFH
MCT-AFH-RLL

FLOPPY DISK CONTROLLER
1.44 MB FLOPPY CONTROLLER
HARD DISK CONTROLLER
RLL CONTROLLER
FLOPPY/HARD CONTROLLER
286/386 FLOPPY,'HARD
286/386 RLL CONTROLLER

DISPLAY ADAPTOR CARDS:

MCT-MGP

MCT-CG

MCT-EGA

MCT-VGA-8

MCT-VGA-16

MCT-MGMIO

MCT-MGAIO

MONOCHROME GRAPHICS
COLOR GRAPHICS ADAPTOR
ENHANCED GRAPHICS ADAPTOR
8-BIT VGA. ANALOG ONLY
16 BIT VGA. 1024X768 RES
MONOGRAPHICS MULTI I/O
286/386 MONOGRAPHICS I/O

MULTIFUNCTION CARDS:

MCT-MIO MULTI I/O FLOPPY CONTROLLER

MCT-IO MULTI I/O CARD

MCT-AMF 286.386 MULTIFUNCTION

MCT-AIO 286.386 MULTI I/O CARD

MEMORY CARDS:

MCT-RAM 576K RAM CARD

MCT-EMS EXPANDED MEMORY CARD

MCT-AEMS 286/386 EMS CARD

NEW LOW
PRICES!

$29.95

$49.95

$79.95

$89.95

$139.95

$149.95

$199.95

$59.95

$49.95

$149.95

$199.95

$329.95

$119.75

$99.95

$79.95

$59.95

$139.95

$59.95

$129.95

$139.95

MODULAR PROGRAMMING SYSTEM

INTEGRA TED MODULAR SYSTEM EASIL Y EXPANDS! ALL
MODULES USE A COMMON HOST ADAPTOR CARD- USE JUST
ONE SLOT TO PROGRAM EPROMS, PROMS, PALS & MORE

HOST ADAPTOR CARD $29.95

• UNIVERSAL INTERFACE FOR ALL
THE PROGRAMMING MODULES!

• SELECTABLE ADDRESSES
PREVENTS CONFLICTS

• MOLDED CABLE

MOD-MAC

UNIVERSAL MODULE $499.99

• PROGRAMS EPROMS, EEPROMS,

PALS, BI POLAR PROMS 8748 4 8751
SERIES DEVICES; 16V8 AND 20V8 GALS
(GENERIC ARRAY LOGIC) FROM LATTICE.

NS. SGS • TESTS TTL, CMOS. DYNAMIC
4 STATIC RAMS • LOAD DISK, SAVE DISK,

EDIT. BLANK CHECK. PROGRAM, AUTO,

READ MASTER, VERIFY AND COMPARE

• TEXTOOL SOCKET FOR .3" TO 6"W IC*S ( 8-40 PINS)

MOD-MUP

EPROM MODULE

$119.95

• PROGRAMS 24-32 PIN EPROMS, CMOS EPROMS
4 EEPROMS FROM 16K TO 1024K ♦ HEX TO OBJ
CONVERTER • AUTO, BLANK CHECK/PROGRAM''
VERIFY • VPP 5. 12.5, 12.75. 13. 21 4 25 VOLTS

• NORMAL, INTELLIGENT, INTERACTIVE 4 QUICK
PULSE PROGRAMMING ALGORITHMS
MOD-MEP

MOD-MEP-4 4 EPROM PROGRAMMER $169.95
MOD-MEP-8 8 EPROM PROGRAMMER $259.95
MOD-MEP-16 16 EPROM PROGRAMMER $499.95

DIGITAL 1C MODULE $129.95

• TESTS TTL. CMOS. DYNAMIC 4 STATIC RAM

• AUTO SEARCH FOR UNKNOWN PART NUMBERS

• USER-PROGRAMMABLE TEST PROCEDURES

MOD-MIC

PAL MODULE $249.95

• PROGRAMS MMt. NS. T! 20 4 Tl 24 PIN DEVICES

• BLANK CHECK. PROGRAM AUTO. READMASTER,
VERIFY 4 SECURITY FUSE BLOW

MOD-MPL

CUPL SOFTWARE—ENTRY-LEVEL PAL DEV. KIT

MOD-MPL-SOFT $99.95

HARD DISKS
20 MB $ 199
30 MB $ 219
40 MB $ 319
28 MS $ 389
60 MB 5 389
80 MB $ 569

KITS
20 MB $ 249 I
30 MB $ 279 1

<35* Seagate ,

NEW LOW"
PRICES!

SIZE

M00EL SPEED

20MB

ST-225

65 MS

20MB

ST-125

40 MS

30MB RLL

ST-238

65 MS

30MB RLL

40MB

I ST-138 40 MS

ST-251 40 MS

ST-251-1 28 MS

60MB RLL

ST-277

40 MS

80MB

ST-4096 28 MS

FORM

FACTOR

5-1/4”

3-1/2”

5-1/4"

3-1/2"

5-1/4"

DRIVE

ONLY

$279

$339

$199
$259
$219
$289
$319
$389
$389 $449

S569 -

AT F/H
KIT

$309

$373

$379

$429

$499

$549

$679

1SOMB ESDI$1QQC
DRIVE KIT

5-1/4" HARD DISK, FLOPPY/HARD
CONTROLLER. CABLES. MOUNTING
HARDWARE 4 SOFTWARE. 1355-PKG

7-y

1.44 MB 3-1/2 " DRIVE
$0095

• ULTRA HIGH DENSITY

• READ/WRITE 720K DISKS. TOO
FDD-1.44X BLACK FACEPLATE
FDD-1.44A BEIGE FACEPLATE
FDD-1.44 SOFT SOFTWARE DRIVER $19.95

1/2 HEIGHT FLOPPY DISK DRIVES:

FD-55B 5-1/4" TEAC DS/DD 360K $99.95

FD-55G 5-1/4* TEAC DS/HD 1,2M $129.95

FDD-360 5-1/4* DS/DD 360K $69.95

FDD-1.2 5-1/4* DSHD 12M $95.95

UPGRADE YOUR
MOTHERBOARD!

MOTHERBOARDS

25 MHZ 386 $ 1049

• 10/25 MHZ

• 16 MB RAM CAPACITY SMB
ON-BOARD(OK), 8 MB RAM CARD |

• USES 256K OR 1MB DRAMS

• 8 SLOTS 1X32-BIT RAM
2X8 BIT 4 5X 16 BIT

• SHADOW RAM FOR BIOS
VIDEO • AMI BIOS

• INTERLEAVED MEMORY

• ADJUSTABLE BUS SPEEDS

MCT-386MB25

MCT-386MB20 10/20 MHZ 386

MCT-386-M 8MB RAM CARD (OK)

12 MHZ MINI-286

• AT COMPATIBLE • KEYBOARD SELECTABLE 8/12MHZ

• EXPANDABLE TO 4MB ON-BOARD WITH 1 MB DRAMS (OK)

• SIX 16-BIT 4 TWO 8-BIT SLOTS • AMI BIOS • LED SUPPORT |

MCT-M286-12
MCT-M286
MCT-M286-16
MCT-M286-20
MCT-XMB
MCT-TURBO

MCT-TURBO-10 4.77/10 MHZ SINGLE CHIP 8088 $99.00

$849.00

$149.95

$ 299

6/10 MHZ MINI-286
8/16 MHZ 286
10/20 MHZ 286
STANDARD 4.77 MHZ 8088
4.77/8 MHZ 8088

$269.95

$489.95

$589.00

$87.95

$95.95

EPROM PROGRAMMER $ 129 95 ]

• PROGRAMS 27XX AND 27XXX EPROMS UP TO 27512

• SUPPORTS VARIOUS PROGRAMMING FORMATS 4
VOLTAGES • SPLIT OR
COMBINE CONTENTS OF ,

SEVERAL EPROMS OF
DIFFERENT SIZES

• READ, WRITE, COPY,

ERASE, CHECK 4 VERIFY

• SOFTWARE FOR HEX
AND INTEL HEX FORMATS
MOD-EPROM

JDR MICRODEVICES, 2233 BRANHAM LANE, SAN JOSE 95124
LOCAL (408) 559-1200 FAX (408) 559-0250 TELEX 171-110
RETAIL STORE: 1256 S. BASC0M AVE., SAN JOSE. CA
[»o«e,cord] (408)947-8881 HOURS: M-F 9-7 SAT. 9-5 SUN. 12-4

Terms; Minimum order $10.00. For shipping 4 handling include $3.50 for ground and
$4 50 for air. Orders over 1 lb and foreign orders may require additional snipping
charges—please contact the sales department tor the amount. CA residents must
include applicable sales tax. Prices sub|ect to change without notice. We are not

include applicable sales tax Prices subject to change without notice. We are not
responsible for typographical errors. We reserve the right to limit quantities and to
substitute manufacturer. All merchandise subject to prior sales. A full copy of our
terms is available upon request. Items pictured may only be representative.

ORDER TOLL FREE 800-538-5000

Fall 1989 263

Circle 6 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS: 7)

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Where's the @!#

Make the cursor BIG and BOLD
and BLINK at any rate! The No-
Squint Cursor "is a lifesaving
utility for laptop users.
Computer Digest. Recommended
by Peter Lewis in the NY TIMES;
Bill Machrone in PC magazine;
and Jerry Pournelle in
INFOWORLD. No-Squint is
$39.95 + 2.50 shipping from:
SkiSoft Publishing., 1644 Mass.
Ave., Lexington, MA 02173
(617)-863-l 876 Visa/MC/Amex

Circle 236 on Reader Service Card

EPROM PROGRAMMER

Circle 191 on Reader Service Card

•Quick pulse pgms, eight 1 Mbit EPROMs in 40 sec
•Stand-alone or PC-driven • 1 Megabit of DRAM

• RS-232. parallel in & out ports • Made in U S A
•Binary, Intel hex, & Mot. S formats • A9 I D

• 100 user-definable macros • 2 year warranty

•Information, call (916) 924-8037 • Single pgmr $550

NEEDHAM’S ELECTRONICS

4539 Or ange G rove Ave. • Sacramento, CA 95841
SI (M-F. 8-5PST) SS

its insured?

SAFEWARE® Insurance provides full
replacement of hardware, media and
purchased software. As little as $39/yr. covers:

• Fire • Theft • Power Surges
• Earthquake • Water Damage • Auto Accident

For information or immediate coverage call:

1 - 800 - 848-3469

In Ohio call 1-614-262-0559

SAFEWARE, The Insurance Agency Inc

Editorial Index by Company

Index of companies covered in articles, columns, or news stories in this issue
Each reference is to the first page of the article or section in which the company name appears

INQUIRY # COMPANY

PAGE

INQUIRY H COMPANY

PAGE

914

A.I. ARCHITECTS.

... 56, 79

1169

MICRO EXPRESS.

.13

881

ADAPTIVE NETWORKS.

.56

897

MICROSOFT

882

ADOBE SYSTEMS.

..56, 203

.56, 87,95, 175,209,269

913

MIPS.

.276

883

ADVANCED LOGIC

1160

RESEARCH.

... 13,56

1170

NATIONAL MICROSYSTEMS

.13

884

AGFA COMPUGRAPHIC.

.56

NEC INFORMATION SYSTEMS... 131

885

ALDUS.

.56

1161

ALTOS COMPUTER SYSTEMS 13

898

O’NEILL COMMUNICATIONS.56

886

AMDEK.

.56

899

OPEN SOFTWARE

ASHTONTATE.87, 175,209

FOUNDATION.

.. 56,95

887

AST RESEARCH

ORACLE.

.175

1162

. 13,56, 123,

131,209

AT&T.

.95

1171

PC LINK.

.13

888

AT&T DATA SYSTEMS GROUP.56

1072

PETER NORTON COMPUTING.... 105

ATI.

.159

900

PHAR LAP SOFTWARE.

.. 56, 79

915

AUTODESK.

.56

917

PIXAR.

.56

PKWARE.

.209

BELL LABS.

.95

BICC DATA NETWORKS.

.131

901

QUADRAM.

.. 56. 79

1163

BLACKSHIP COMPUTER

QUALITAS.

.79

SYSTEMS.

.13

902

QUARTERDECK OFFICE

SYSTEMS.

.. 56, 79

916

CADKEY.

.56

889

CANON U.S.A.

..56, 203

RACET COMPUTES.

.131

912

903

RATIONAL SYSTEMS.

.. 56, 79

CHIPS & TECHNOLOGIES ..

.229

RELATIONAL

890

COMPAQ COMPUTER.13,56, 131

TECHNOLOGIES.

.175

1164

RENAISSANCE.

.159

CORVUS.

.87

SEATTLE COMPUTER

PRODUCTS.

.209

DATAPOINT.

.195

904

SONY CORP. OF AMERICA..

.56

DIGITAL EQUIPMENT.

..95, 195

SUN MICROSYSTEMS.

.95,276

DIGITAL RESEARCH.

209, 269

SYBASE.

.175

1165

DYNA COMPUTER.

.13

SYSTEM ENHANCEMENT

ASSOCIATES.

.209

EPSON AMERICA .

.131

1172

SYSTEMS INTEGRATION

891

EVEREX SYSTEMS.

... 13,56

ASSOCIATES.

.13

1166

TANDY.

.131

1167

FIVESTAR ELECTRONICS..

.13

1173

TANGENT COMPUTER.

.13

FORMALSOFT.

.269

905

TEAC AMERICA.

.56

GUPTA TECHNOLOGIES ....

.175

TEXAS INSTRUMENTS.

.159

1073

THE ALDRIDGE CO.

.105

HAMILTON LABORATORIES.87

906

TRANS-M.

.56

892

HEWLETT-PACKARD.... 56, 131,203

1075

TRAVELING SOFTWARE....

105, 269

911

TSENG LABS.

.159

HILGRAEVE.

.87

893

HITACHI AMERICA.

.56

907

UNIX INTERNATIONAL.

.56

894

IBM.

.56

VIDEO ELECTRONICS STANDARDS

ING. C. OLIVETTI.

.131

ASSOCIATION.

.159

INMOS.

.276

VIDEO SEVEN.

.159

895

INSITE PERIPHERALS.

.56

896

INTEL.56, 67, 123, 159, 209, 276

908

WEITEK.

.56,221

WESTERN DIGITA L IMAGING.... 159

LOCUS COMPUTING.

.95

909

WYSE TECHNOLOGY.

.56,131

LOGISTIQUE.

.87

LOGITECH.

.87

XEROX .

.195

1071

LOTUS

1076

XTREE.

.105

DEVELOPMENT. 105, 209, 269

910

ZENITH DATA

1074

MAGEE ENTERPRISES.

.105

1174

SYSTEMS.13,56, 131

1168

MATRIX DIGITAL PRODUCTS.13

ZSOFT.

.209

Circle 232 on Reader Service Card

READER

SERVICE

To get further information on the products advertised in BYTE, fill out
the reader service card by circling the numbers on the card that cor¬
respond to the inquiry number listed with the advertiser. This index is
provided as an additional service by the publisher, who assumes no
liability for errors or omissions.

Alphabetical Index to Advertisers

Inquiry No. Page No.

ABACUS SOFTWARE

177

* DELL COMPUTER 80A-B

153

KAYPRO COMPUTERS

151

ABACUS SOFTWARE

177

80 DELL COMPUTER

154

KEA SYSTEMS

122

286

ACS INTERNATIONAL.INC

200

160 DESCRIBE,INC . 92,93

155

KEPRO CIRCUIT SYSTEMS

AK SYSTEMS

250

82 DIGIBOARD

KINSON PRODUCTS CORP

164

ALTEX ELECTRONICS

258

83 DIONEX.

KINSON PRODUCTS CORP

164

AMDEK. .

161

85 DISKETTE CONNECTION

259

156

KNOWLEDGE DYNAMICS

260

AMERICAN SMALL BUS.COMP

139

86 DSP DEVELOPMENT CORP

201

161

LIGHTNINGWORD CORP.

101

ANALOG & DIGITAL PERIPH.

259

10 DSP TECHNOLOGY CORP

193

162

LIGHTNINGWORD CORP.

101

ANDERSON CONSULTING &S/W48

89 DTK COMPUTER, INC.

163

LOGICAL DEVICES

256

ANNABOOKS

251

90 DTK COMPUTER.INC.

164

LOGICAL DEVICES

256

AOUYTEK REAL TIME SYSTEM 28

91 DURANT TECHNOLOGIES

165

LOGITECH .......

ATI.

109

92 DURANT TECHNOLOGIES

166

LOGITECH .

BASF

133

94 ELITE MICROSYSTEMS

157

167

MANZANA MICROSYSTEMS

214

BEST COMPUTER.

261

95 ELS ENTERPRISES,LTD.

213

168

MATRIX SOFTWARE

220

BEST POWER TECHNOLOGY

260

96 EMERSON ELECTRIC.

184

•

MAXELL

CIV

BINARY ENGINEERING.

223

97 EMERSON ELECTRIC

184

169

MAXON SYSTEMS.INC

132

BITWISE DESIGNS,INC.

150

98 ENERTRONICS RESEARCH.INC.

225

170

MAXON SYSTEMS.INC

132

BITWISE DESIGNS,INC.

150

99 EVEREX SYSTEMS 218,219

171

MEGA DRIVE

•

BIX

224

100 EVEREX SYSTEMS 218.219

172

MEI .

144

450

BIX

239

101 EXSEL.INC.

173

MEI

144

BLACKSHIP COMP.SYSTEM

210

102 EXSEL.INC

176

174

MERRITT COMPUTER PRODUCTS 32

BOCA RESEARCH

179

103 FINALSOFT CORPORATION

136

175

METRABYTE.

256

BOCA RESEARCH

179

104 FINALSOFT CORPORATION

136

293

MEXTEL .

BOCA RESEARCH

181

105 FLAGSTAFF ENGINEERING

294

MEXTEL .

. 74

BOCA RESEARCH

181

106 FOUNTAIN TECHNOLOGIES

216

177

MICRO ELECTRONIC TECH.

260

BOCA RESEARCH

183

107 FTG DATA SYSTEMS

250

178

MICROPRESS

205

BOCA RESEARCH

183

• FUNCKEY ENTERPRISES

179

MICROSOLUTIONS COMP PROD

BOLT SYSTEMS

109 FUTURE SOFT ENGINEERING 194

180

MICRONICS COMPUTERS.INC

BOLT SYSTEMS

110 FUTURE SOFT ENGINEERING 194

181

MICROPROCESSORS UNLIMITED

260

BP MICROSYSTEMS

260

111 GTEKINC.

182

MICROSIM CORPORATION.

BUYER’S MART 242

-249

112 GTEKINC.

183

MICROSIM CORPORATION. .

296

BYTE BITS .

256

113 GALACTICOMM

•

MICROSOFT

4,5

•

BYTEWEEK/NEWSLETTER

275

114 GALACTICOMM

•

MICROSOFT

BYTE PUBLICATIONS

189

115 GATEWAY 2000 48A-D

184

MICROTRONICS TRADE SERV. 75

•

BYTE PUBLICATIONS 234,235

116 GENERAL PARAMETRICS.

187

•

MICROWAY

•

BYTE SUB.MESSAGE

270

117 GENERIC SOFTWARE

127

185

MOSAIC MARKETING

129

CSOURCE

118 GENERIC SOFTWARE

127

186

MULTI-MIChO.

CAM SOFTWARE

119 GENESIS DATA SYSTEMS .

231

187

NANAO .

228

CAM SOFTWARE

120 GENESIS DATA SYSTEMS

231

188

NANAO.

228

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT CORP.

121 GEOCOMP CORPORATION

189

NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS

•

CLEO SOFTWARE.

199

122 GEOCOMP CORPORATION

. 18

190

NATURAL MICROSYSTEMS

153

CLONE COMPUTERS

257

123 GLENCO ENGINEERING,INC

152

191

NEEDHAM’S ELECTRONICS

264

CMS ENHANCEMENTS .

124 GOLDEN BOW

212

192

NEWER TECHNOLOGY

CMS ENHANCEMENTS

125 GTE DATA SERVICES .

236

193

NISCA INCORPORATED

114

CNS.INC.

130

126 G.REED,INC.

252

NORTHGATE COMPUTER SYS. 166,167

COMMUNICATION RESEARCH GR

238

127 HAUPPAUGE COMPUTER

N0RTHGATE COMPUTER SYS. 168,169

COMMUNICATION RESEARCH GR

238

128 HEARSAY,INC.

251

•

NORTHGATE COMPUTER SYS. 170,171

COMPFAX

237

129 HEARSAY,INC.

251

•

NORTHGATE COMPUTER SYS. 172,173

COMPFAX .

237

130 HELIX SOFTWARE COMPANY

106

194

ON TARGET

256

COMPUCOM.

251

131 HERSEY MICRO CONSULTING 96

195

OVERLAND DATA

251

COMPUTER AIDED TECHNOLOGY

146

132 HOME SMART COMPUTING

259

196

PACIFIC DATA PRODUCTS

202

COMPUTER AIDED TECHNOLOGY

146

133 HOOLEON CORPORATION

162

197

PACIFIC DATA PRODUCTS

202

COMPUTER DIRECT .... 226,227

134 HORSTMANN SOFTWARE

198

PARA SYSTEMS

COMPUTER DISCOUNT WAREHSE

155

135 HYPERKINETIX.INC . .

233

199

PARCPLACE SYSTEMS

141

COMPUTER MODULES

260

136 HYPERKINETIX.INC...

233

200

PARCPLACE SYSTEMS

141

COMPUTER PERIPHERALS

137 HAW MICRO INC

201

PATTON & PATTON.

156

COMPUTER SYSTEMS RESEARCH54.55

* IBM-AIX PRODUCT 40A-B

202

PC DESIGNS

107

COMTROL CORP.

191

* IBM-AIX PRODUCT 40,41

203

PC POWER & COOLING

CONCEPTUAL SOFTWARE

138 I.C. EXPRESS

260

204

PC POWER & COOLING

CONCEPTUAL SOFTWARE

139 IGC .

104

205

PERIPHERAL TECHNOLOGY

252

CONNEXPERTS

140 IGC.

104

206

PERISCOPE COMPANY,INC . .

149

CONTECH.

252

141 IMAGENET SYSTEMS,INC.

256

207

PERISCOPE COMPANY,INC

149

CONTROL SYSTEMS

158

142 IMAGENET SYSTEMS.INC.

256

208

PERSONAL TEX

240

CONTROL SYSTEMS.

158

143 INVENTORY MARKETING CONSL 259

280

PI COMPUTER CORP.

252

CONTROL VISION.

144 ISLAND SYSTEMS

100

281

PI COMPUTER CORP.

252

CRICHLOW DATA SCIENCES

259

145 ISLAND SYSTEMS

100

210

PINNACLE PUBLISHING.

163

DAMARK INTL.

232

146 JAMECO ELECTRONICS

253

211

PINNACLE PUBLISHING

163

DARIANA TECHNOLOGY GROUP 165

147 JB TECHNOLGIES

164

212

POPKIN SOFTWARE & SYSTEMS 145

DARI ANA TECHNOLOGY GROUP 165

148 JB TECHNOLGIES

164

213

PRECISION DATA PRODUCTS

260

DATACOPY SERVICE OF TEXAS

259

6 J.D.R. MICRODEVICES 262,263

214

PRECISION PLUS SOFTWARE

DATABASE & DATACOM SOL.

176

7 J.D.R. MICRODEVICES 262,263

215

PRESENTATION ELECTRONICS 64

292

DATAPRO.

274

151 KADAK

216

PRESENTATION ELECTRONICS

274

DELL COMPUTER

CII.1

152 KAYPRO COMPUTERS

151

217

PRIORITY ONE.

215

Inquiry No. Page No.

218 PROSYSTEM COMP TECHNIC 59

219 PROCOMP.U.S.A..INC.26

220 PROCOMP,U.S.A.,INC.26

221 PROGRAMMERS WHOLESALER 271

222 PROGRAMMERS WHOLESALER 273

223 QMS 207

224 QMS .207

225 QUA TECH .16

282 QUARTERDECK 102,103

283 QUARTERDECK 102,103

284 QUARTERDECK 102,103

285 QUARTERDECK 102,103

227 QUICKSOFT.INC.192

228 RAINBOW.137

229 RAINBOW.137

230 ROSE ELECTRONICS 23

231 ROTATING MEMORY SERVICE . 38

232 SAFEWARE 264

233 SANTA CRUZ OPERATION 9

289 SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVORS , 272

290 SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVORS 272

291 SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVORS 272

235 SILICON SHACK 256

236 SKISOFT PUBLISHING CORP 264

237 SOFTWARE LINK 76,77

238 SOFTWARE LINK.76,77

239 SOFTWARE SECURITY 65

240 SOTA TECHNOLOGY.217

241 SPSS 47

242 TATUNG COMP.OF AMERICA 85

243 TEKTRONIX 43

244 TEKTRONIX 43

246 TEXAS MICROSYSTEMS,INC 22

247 THE WHITEWATER GROUP .174

248 THORBURN & ASSOCIATES 259

249 TOSHIBA.10,11

250 TOSHIBA.10,11

253 TRIPP LITE.34

254 TRUEVISION. 142

255 TURBOPOWER SOFTWARE 108

256 UNICORN ELECTRONICS 256

• UNITED SOFTWARE SECURITY 32A-B

• UNITED SOFTWARE SECURITY 33

257 UNITEX.INC. 254,255

• UNIXWORLD 113

258 V COMMUNICATIONS,INC 63

259 V COMMUNICATIONS.INC. .211

295 VARTECH INT’L.250

260 VICTORY ENTERPRISES.146

261 VIDEX.99

262 VIDEX.90

263 VIZIFLEX SEELS .260

264 WEITEK CORPORATION 24,25

265 WELLS AMERICAN(N.AMER) ... 125

266 WELLS AMERICAN(N.AMER) . . . 125

267 WELLS AMERICAN (INTL). 125

268 WELLS AMERICAN (INT’L). .125

297 WELLS AMERICAN(N.AMER) 135

298 WELLS AMERICAN(N.AMER) . . .135

299 WELLS AMERICAN (INT'L). ... 135

300 WELLS AMERICAN (INT’L). ... 135

269 WHOLESALE DIRECT,INC.28

270 WILLOW PERIPHERALS.21

271 YSCTECH.190

272 ZENITH DATA SYSTEMS.27

273 ZEOS INTERNATIONAL.115

274 ZEOS INTERNATIONAL . . 116,117

275 ZEOS INTERNATIONAL 118,119

276 ZEOS INTERNATIONAL . 120,121

279 ZOLTRIX.134

* Correspond directly with company.

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Fall 1989 265

To get further information on the products advertised in BYTE, fill out
the reader service card by circling the numbers on the card that cor¬
respond to the inquiry number listed with the advertiser This index is
provided as an additional service by the publisher, who assumes no
liability for errors or omissions.

* Correspond directly with company.

Index to Advertisers by Product Category

Inquiry No. Page No.

HARDWARE

800 ADD INS

286 ACS INTERNATIONAL,^ 200
23 ATI. 109

33 8OCA RESEARCH.179

34 SOCA RESEARCH.179

35 BOCA RESEARCH. 131

36 BOCA RESEARCH 181

37 BOCA RESEARCH. 133

38 BOCA RESEARCH .183

45 CAPITAL EQUIPMENT CORP. 98
62 COMPUTER MODULES 260

65 COMTROLCORP.191

69 CONTROL SYSTEMS 158

70 CONTROL SYSTEMS 158

62 DIG1 BOARD.94

98 ENERTRQNICS RESEARCHING 225

107 FTC DATA SYSTEMS.250

113 GALACTICOMM , 2

114 GALACTICOMM .2

111 GTEKINC. 36

112 GTEKINC,..... 86

123 HEARSAYJNC 251

129 HEARSAY, I NO 251

132 HOME SMART COMPUTING . 259

21 KINSON PRODUCTS CORP 164

22 KINSON PRODUCTS CORP 164

169 M AXON SYSTEMS .INC 132

170 MAXON SYSTEMS,!NC . . 132

130 Ml CRON ICS COMPU TERS, INC 71

" MICROWAY. . Cllt

192 NEWER TECHNOLOGY 90

206 PE RISCOP E CO MPAN Y,I NO 149

207 PERISCOPE COMPANY,INC 149

219 PROCOMP,U S A JNC.23

220 PROCOMP,U.S,A.,1 NO , 26

225 QUA TECH.16

235 SILICON SHACK 256

254 TRUEVISION 142

264 WEITEK CORPORATION 24,25

269 WHOLESALE DIRECT,INC, 26

270 WILLOW PERIPHERALS.21

801 DRIVES

167 MANZANA MICROSYSTEMS 214

171 MEGA DRIVE. 39

179 MICROSOLUTIONS COMP.PROD 43

802 FACSIMILE

53 COMP FAX .. 237

54 COMPFAX 237

303 HARDWARE programmers

41 BP MICROSYSTEMS . 260

111 GTEKINC. 36

112 GTEK INC- 86

163 LOGICAL DEVIC ES. 256

164 LOGICAL DEVICES. 256

191 NEEDHAM'S ELECTRONICS 264

804 INSTRUMENTATION

175 METRABYTE 256

805 KEYBOARDS/MICE

133 HOOLEON CORPORATION 162

165 LOGITECH 45

166 LOGITECH .45

172 MEI.144

173 MEI.144

293 MEXTEL .74

294 MEXTEL. 74

* NORTHGATE COMPUTER SYS. 170,171

215 PRE SE NTATlON E LECTRO N ICS 64

216 PRESENTATION ELECTRONICS 274

Inquiry No. Page No.

806 MASS STORAGE

AK SYSTEMS . .

250

ANALOG 8 DIGITAL PERIPH

259

BASF

. 133

CONTECH..

252

105

FLAG STAFF ENG 1NEERING

MAXELL

CIV

171

MEGA DRIVE

195

OVERLAND DATA.

. 251

807

MISCELLANEOUS

292

DATAPRO

274

174

MERRITT COMPUTER PRODUCTS 32

203

PC POWER 8 COOLING,

204

PC POWER & COOLING

231

ROTATING MEMORY SERVICE , 38

235

SILICON SHACK.

256

260

VICTORY ENTERPRISES

. 146

263

VIZIFLEX SEELS .

260

808

MOD EM S/MULT IP LEXO RS

CLEO SOFTWARE

199

COMPUCOM.

251

COMPUTER PERIPHERALS

113

GALACTICOMM

114

GALACTiCOMM

... 2

177

MICRO ELECTRONIC TECH,

260

809

MONITORS

AMDEK.

161

ELITE MICROSYSTEMS

157

187

NANAO

228

188

NANAO

228

242

TATUNG COMP OF AMERICA

279

ZCLTRIX.

134

810

NETWORK HARDWARE

AQUYTEK REAL TIME SYSTEM 28

CMS ENHANCEMENTS

CONNEXPEHTS .

DSP TECHNOLOGY CORP

193

KINSON PRODUCTS CORP

164

KINSON PRODUCTS CORP

164

190

NATURAL MICROSYSTEMS

153

219

PROCOMP TJ.S.A.. INC.

220

PROCOMP r U S A.JNC.

230

ROSE ELECTRONICS.

811

PRtNTERS/PLOTTERS

196

PACIFIC DATA PRODUCTS

202

197

PACIFIC DATA PRODUCTS

202

223

QMS

207

224

QMS

207

243

TEKTRONIX

244

TEKTRONIX

249

TOSHIBA.

10,11

250

TOSHIBA.

10,11

812

SCANNERS/IMAGE PROCESSORS

COMPUTER AIDED TECHNOLOGY

146

COMPUTER AIDED TECHNOLOGY

. 146

T93

NISGA INCORPORATED

114

261

VIDEX.

262

VIDEX.

613

SOFTWARE SECURITY

123

GLENCO ENGINEERING,INC

152

228

RAINBOW.

137

229

RAINBOW

137

239

SOFTWARE SECURITY

814

SYSTEMS

30 BITWISE DESIGNS, INC 150

Inquiry No. Page No,

31 BITWISE DESIGNS,INC.150

32 BLACKSHIP COMP.SYSTEM , , 210

64 COMPUTER SYSTEMS RESEARCH54,55
79 DELL COMPUTER.CM,1

* DELLOOMPUTER BQA-B

60 DELL COMPUTER . . 81

S3 DIONEX . 35

89 DTK COMPUTER,INC.12

90 DTK COMPUTER,INC 12

99 EVEREX SYSTEMS.218,219

100 EVEREX SYSTEMS 218,219
106 FOUNTAIN TECHNOLOGIES . 216
115 GATEWAY 2000 48A-D

127 HAUPPAUGE COMPUTER .37
132 HOME SMART COMPUTING 259

152 KAY PRO COMPUTERS 151

153 KAY PRO COMPUTERS 151

180 M 1C RONIC S COMPUTE RS, INC. 71
184 MIC ROTRON ICS TRADE SERV. 75

* MICROWAY Clll

186 MULTI-MICRO 91

* NORTHGATE COMPUTER SYS 166.167
- N0RTHGATE COMPUTER SYS 168,189

* NORTHGATE COMPUTER SYS. 172,173

202 PC DESIGNS 107

205 PERIPHERAL TECHNOLOGY 252

280 PI COMPU TER CORP 252

281 PI COMPUTER CORP. 252

246 SOTA TECHNOLOGY .217

246 TEXAS MICROSYSTEMS,INC . 22

249 TOSHIBA 10,11

250 TOSHIBA 10,11

265 WELLS AMERICANS AMER} 125

266 WELLS AM ERIC AN(N. AM ERJ 125

267 WELLS AMERICAN (I NT'L) 125

268 WE LLS AM ERIC AN (I NT'L) 125
297 WELLS AMERICAN^,AMER} 135
296 WE LLS AM ERICAN(N AM ER} 135

299 WE LLS AMERICAN (I NT'L) 135

300 WELLS AMERICAN (INTL) 135

272 ZENITH DATA SYSTEMS 27

273 ZEOS INTERNATIONAL. 115

274 ZEOS INTE RNATIONAL 116,117

275 ZEOS INTERNATIONAL 118,119

276 ZEOS INTERNATIONAL 120.121

815 UPS

DURANT TECHNOLOGIES

DURAN T TECH NO LOG 1 ES

EMERSON ELECTRIC

184

EMERSON ELECTRIC

184

198

PARASYSTEMS

253

TRIPP LITE

SOFTWARE

818

APPLE/MAC APPLICATIONS
Sclentiflc/Technlcal

182

MICROS IM CORPORATION

, 97

183

MICROSIM CORPORATION

817

IBM/MS DOS APPLICATIONS

Bus! rcess/Gf flee

17 AN DERSON CO N SU LTIN G & S/W4B

66 CONCEPTUAL SOFTWARE 46

67 CONCEPTUAL SOFTWARE 46
77 DATABASE & DATACOM SOL. 176

160 DESCR1BEJNC 92,93

116 GENERAL PARAMETRlCS 167

161 LIGHTNINGWORD CORP 101

162 LIGHTNINGWORD CORP.101

185 MOSAIC MARKETING 129

210 PINNACLE PUBLISHING 163

211 PINNACLEPUBLISHING 163

212 POPKIN SOFTWARE 8 SYSTEMS 146

262 QUARTERDECK 102,103

283 QUARTERDECK . 102,103

Inquiry No. Page No.

284 QUARTERDECK . . 102 T 103

285 QUARTERDECK.102,103

227 QUICKSOFT,INC 192

818 IBM/MSD05 AP PLICATIONS

Sef entlf le/Techn leal

ANNABOOKS . .

251

BINARY ENGINEERING.

223

OSP DEVELOPMENT CORP

201

124

GOLDEN BOW.

212

125

GTE DATA SERVICES.

236

134

HDRSTMANN SOFTWARE .

189

NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS

201

PATTON & PATTON.

156

212

POPKIN SOFTWARE & SYSTEMS 145

214

PRECISION PLUS SOFTWARE

241

SPSS...

619

IBM/M SDOS —

GAD

AMERICAN SMALL BUS.COMP

139

117

GENERIC SOFTWARE

127

118

GENERIC SOFTWARE .

127

820

IBM/MS DOS COMMUNICATIONS

COMMUNICATION RESEARCH GR

238

COMMUNICATION RESEARCH GR

236

DATABASE 8 DATACOM SOL.

176

109

FUTURE SOFT ENG1 NEE RING 194

110

FUTURE SOFT ENGINEERING 194

154

KEASYSTEMS

122

190

NATURAL MICROSYSTEMS .

153

821

IBM/MSDOS — GRAPHICS

DSP DEVELOPMENT CORP

201

116

GENERAL PARAMETRlCS .

167

210

PINNACLE PUBLISHING

163

211

PINNACLE PUBLISHING

163

622

IB M/MS DOS —

LAN

219

PROCOMP,U S A.JNC.

220

PROCOMP.U. S. A., INC.

623

IBM/M SDOS — LANGUAGES

CAM SOFTWARE.

CAM SOFTWARE ,

119

GENESIS DATA SYSTEMS

231

120

GENESIS DATA SYSTEMS

231

MICROSOFT

4,5

MICROSOFT.

199

PARCPLACE SYSTEMS

141

200

PARCPLACE SYSTEMS

141

218

PROSYSTEM COMP.TECHNIC

247

THE WHITEWATER GROUP .

174

255

TURBOPOWER SOFTWARE

106

824

IBM/MS DOS — UTILITIES

BOLT SYSTEMS .

BOLT SYSTEMS .. . .

C SOURCE.

CNS.INC... ..

130

DARI AN A TECHNOLOGY GRQU P i 65

DARIANA TECHNOLOGY GROUP 165

103

FINALSOFT CORPORATION .

136

184

FINALSOFT CORPORATION

136

FUNCKEY ENTERPRISES

f19

GENESIS DATA SYSTEMS

231

120

GENESIS DATA SYSTEMS ...

231

130

HELIX SOFTWARE COMPANY

106

131

HERSEY MICRO CONSULTING . 96

135

HYPER Kl NETIX, 1NC

233

136

HYPERKINETIX.INC.

233

141

IMAGENET SYSTEMS, INC.

256

142

1 MAG EN ET SYSTEM S, INC

256

144

ISLAND SYSTEMS.

100

145

ISLAND SYSTEMS ..

100

156

KNOWLEDGE DYNAMICS .

260

266 Fall 1989

B Y T E IBM Special Edition

READER

SERVICE

Correspond directly with company.

Inquiry No. Page No.

199 PARCPLACE SYSTEMS 141

200 PARCPLACE SYSTEMS 141

206 PERISCOPE COMPANY,INC 149

207 PERISCOPE COMPANY,INC 149
214 PRECISION PLUS SOFTWARE 32
218 PROSYSTEM COMP TECHNIC 59

282 QUARTERDECK 102,103

283 QUARTERDECK 102.103

284 QUARTERDECK 102,103

285 QUARTERDECK .102,103

227 QUICKSORT,INC 192

289 SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVORS 272

290 SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVORS 272

291 SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVORS 272

236 SKISOFT PUBLISHING CORP 264
247 THE WHITEWATER GROUP 174
255 TURBOPOWER SOFTWARE 108

* UNITED SOFTWARE SECURITY 32A-B

• UNITED SOFTWARE SECURITY 33

258 V COMMUNICATIONS.INC 63

259 V COMMUNICATIONS,!!^ 211

295 VARTECH INT’L 250

271 YSCTECH 190

825 OTHER APPLICATIONS

Business/Office

185 MOSAIC MARKETING 129

826 OTHER APPLICATIONS

Scientific/Technical

121 GEOCOMP CORPORATION 18

Inquiry No. Page No.

122 GEOCOMP CORPORATION 18

182 MICROSIM CORPORATION 97

183 MICROSIM CORPORATION 97

827 OTHER — LANGUAGES

71 CONTROL VISION 46

828 DESKTOP

PUBLISHING

160 DESCRIBE,INC 92,93

168 MATRIX SOFTWARE 220

178 MICROPRESS 205

196 PACIFIC DATA PRODUCTS 202

197 PACIFIC DATA PRODUCTS 202

208 PERSONAL TEX 240

829 EDUCATIONAL/
INSTRUCTIONAL

8 ABACUS SOFTWARE.177

9 ABACUS SOFTWARE 177

28 BEST POWER TECHNOLOGY 260

296 BYTE BITS 256

* BYTE PUBLICATIONS.189

* BYTE PUBLICATIONS 234,235

* BYTE SUB MESSAGE 270

* BYTEWEEK/NEWSLETTER. 275

125 GTE DATA SERVICES 236

Inquiry No. Page No.

• UNIXWORLD .113

830 MAIL ORDER/
RETAIL

12 ALTEX ELECTRONICS 258

27 BEST COMPUTER 261

46 CLONE COMPUTERS 257

60 COMPUTER DIRECT 226,227

61 COMPUTER DISCOUNT WAREHSE 155
75 CRICHLOW DATA SCIENCES 259

• DAMARK INT’L.232

85 DISKETTE CONNECTION 259
95 ELS ENTERPRISES,LTD.213

101 EXSEL.INC 18

102 EXSEL.INC 176

115 GATEWAY 2000 48A-D

126 G.REED,INC 252

143 INVENTORY MARKETING CONSL 259
138 I.C. EXPRESS .260

146 JAMECO ELECTRONICS 253

147 JB TECHNOLGIES 164

148 JB TECHNOLGIES 164

6 J.D.P. MICRODEVICES 262,263

7 J.D.R. MICRODEVICES 262,263

181 MICROPROCESSORS UNLIMITED 260
213 PRECISION DATA PRODUCTS 260
217 PRIORITY ONE 215

221 PROGRAMMERS WHOLESALER 271

222 PROGRAMMERS WHOLESALER 273

256 UNICORN ELECTRONICS 256

257 UNITEX.INC 254,255

Inquiry No. Page No.

831 MISCELLANEOUS

76 DATACOPY SERVICE OF TEXAS 259

137 H&W MICRO,INC.16

155 KEPRO CIRCUIT SYSTEMS 36
194 ON TARGET 256

232 SAFEWARE 264

832

ON-LINE

SERVICES

• BIX

. 224

450 BIX

239

833

OPERATING

SYSTEMS

* IBM-AIX PRODUCT 40A-B

• IBM-AIX PRODUCT 40,41

139 IGC 104

140 IGC 104

151 KADAK 34

233 SANTA CRUZ OPERATION 9

237 SOFTWARE LINK 76,77

238 SOFTWARE LINK 76,77

834 RECRUITMENT

246 THORBURN & ASSOCIATES 259

BYTE ADVERTISING SALES STAFF:

Steven M. Vito, Associate Publisher/V.P. of Marketing, One Phoenix Mill Lane, Peterborough, NH 03458, tel. (603) 924-9281
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BYTE BITS (2x3)

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Rua da Consolacao, 222
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B Y T E IBM Special Edition

Fall 1989 267

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2 □ Other Management

3 □ Non-Management

B. What is your primary job function/principal area of
responsibility? (Check one.)

4 □ Administration

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6 □ MIS/DP/Information Center

7 □ Product Design and Development

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u □ Purchasing

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C. Please indicate your organization’s primary business
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Non-Computer-Related Businesses:

22 □ Manufacturing

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1181 1182 1183 1184 1185 1186 1187 1188 1189 1190 1191 1192 1193 1194 1195 1196 1197 1198 1199 1200

IBM SPECIAL ISSUE 1989

REE

Circle numbers on reply
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Name

( )

Title

Phone

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Address

City

Country Code

A. What is your level of

16 □ Computer Retail Stores

management responsibility?

17 □ Consultants

1 □ Senior-level Management

18 □ Service Bureau/Planning

2 □ Other Management

19 □ Distributor/Wholesaler

3 □ Non-Management

20 □ Systems House/

B. What is your primary job func¬

Integrator/VAR

tion/principal area of responsibility?

21 □ Other:

(Check one.)

Non-Computer-Related Businesses:

4 □ Administration

22 □ Manufacturing

S □ Accounting/Financc

23 □ Finance. Insurance.

6 □ MIS/DP/Information Center

Real Estate

7 □ Product Design and

24 □ Retail/Wholesale

Development

23 □ Education

8 □ Research and Development

26 □ Government

9 □ Manufacturing

27 □ Military

10 □ Sales/Marketing

28 □ Professions (Law, Medicine.

II □ Purchasing

Engineering, Architecture)

12 □ ftrsonnd

29 □ Consulting

13 □ Education/Training

30 □ Other Business Services

14 □ Other:

31 □ Transportation.

C Please indicate your organiza¬

Communications. Utilities

tion’s primary business activity:

32 d Other:

(Check one.)

Computer-Related Businesses:

IBM

IS □ Manufacturer (Hardware. Software)

IRSE009

■

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IBM SPECIAL ISSUE

The Status of
Applications

SOFTWARE: LATE

BYTE's software reviews editor offers his views
on the widening gap between hardware and software

Dennis Allen

f you’ve ever set out to
accomplish a particular
task on your PC only to
find there was no soft¬
ware that could do it,
you’ve experienced software lag. It’s a
frustrating feeling—knowing that your
computer is capable of doing what you
need but is prevented from doing so by
the lack of the right software. You’ve
been cheated. The computer
that once promised so much
now has so little to offer.

The root of the problem is
forked. Neither IBM nor
Microsoft has provided a 32-
bit DOS-compatible operating
system, and developers are
still learning how to cope
with many megabytes of data.

As a result, the current crop
of applications software often
relies on brute force to get
things done.

Not everything, however,
is bad in the software world.

In fact, there is evidence that
applications software is head¬
ed for a common user inter¬
face, and that WYSIWYG
may become a way of life.

And programs may even be
getting smarter.

Although you don’t need a
crystal ball to predict that new
changes in software are com¬
ing, exactly what the changes

will be is less clear. But you can identify
some of the forces driving the changes.
The one thing that is certain is that users
know what they want.

The Operating-System Bottleneck

Of course, not all the fault for the soft¬
ware lag belongs to applications develop¬
ers. They’re missing an operating system
designed specifically for 80386-based

hardware. Although OS/2 happens to
work on 80386 systems, it was not de¬
signed for them. It’s a 16-bit operating
system for 80286 machines.

On the other hand, developers have yet
to conquer OS/2. Even the grandest ap¬
plication of them all—Lotus 1-2-3 re¬
lease 3.0, which took years to produce—
was designed for DOS 3.x. You’d be
hard-pressed to walk into any computer
store and find five OS/2 ap¬
plications sitting on the shelf.
A lot of software companies
talk about OS/2 applications,
but few have actually pro¬
duced any.

The reasons offered are
many, but it all boils down to
a matter of investment. While
OS/2’s complexities, such as
multitasking and data shar¬
ing, ultimately offer more
headroom for sophisticated
programs, its learning curve
for developers is more like a
brick wall.

Even the software giants
such as Lotus, Ashton-Tate,
and Microsoft, with their
abundant resources, have ex¬
perienced setbacks. Just con¬
sider the long waits for 1-2-3
release 3.0, dBASE IV, and a
full-featured Windows word
processor. And those are just
DOS-based applications. The
continued

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Fall 1989 269

THE STATUS OF APPLICATIONS SOFTWARE: LATE

point is that, even for these companies
with their millions of R&D dollars, the
number of labor hours needed to develop
sophisticated applications is gargantuan-

Managing Megabytes

To complicate matters further, increased
storage capacities have offered new op¬
portunities and challenges for applica¬
tions developers. While more storage
would seem obviously belter, not every¬
one is certain how best to use the hun¬
dreds of megabytes that optical drives
provide.

For now, publishers are using CD-
ROMs to provide static reference materi¬
als. Notable examples are Grolier’s Elec¬
tronic Encyclopedia and Microsoft’s
Programmer’s Library. But what most
users really need is for their applications
to manage dynamic archiving.

Currently, when your hard disk be¬
comes nearly full, you have to remove
your older files. Maybe you archive them
on floppy disks. If you do, chances are
that you don’t bother referring to those
files again because it’s too much trouble:
You would have to fumble through all
your archive disks, trying one and then
another, to find a certain bit of informa¬
tion. You might even find it easier and
faster to search through printed reports
in a file cabinet.

That’s one of the ironies of today’s ap¬
plications software. Although most of
the modern world is convinced that you
can do record keeping and manage things
better on personal computers, you still
have to resort to a file cabinet and Penda-
flex folders to see your old records.

A better arrangement would be appli¬
cations software that really takes advan¬
tage of read/write or WORM (write
once, read many times) optical disks.
Such software would, on a regular basis,
archive your old records and files on op¬
tical disks. More important, the applica¬
tion program would manage those ar¬
chives. It would continually update its
indexes so that, say, five years from
now, on a moment’s notice, you could
call up the spreadsheet for October
1989's production costs. If you needed to
change optical disks, the program would
tell you which one to insert.

Also, your application should be able
to use that archived information. It
should be able to correlate it with more
recent information to generate compara¬
tive reports and to project the next year’s
performance.

Unfortunately, that kind of software
does not exist today, even though the
hardware to handle such tasks exists. The
fact is, software for dealing with large
amounts of on-line data is just emerging.
Consider Lotus Magellan and Traveling
Software’s View Link, for example.
They are the first major attempts to help
you actively manage several megabytes
of disparate information. Either will let
you peer into data files on your hard disk
and view the data in its native format.
Both will also search your hard disk for
the file or files containing specific infor¬
mation.

But while Magellan and ViewLink
work fine as utilities for managing
what’s currently on your hard disk,
they’re really no help at managing ar¬

chives on floppy disks. Both would also
fall short in handling a gigabyte or more
of data on optical disks. Even worse,
both of these programs create a whole
new set of problems. Magellan takes up
valuable hard disk space with its index,
and it needs to update the index frequent¬
ly, sometimes taking several minutes to
do that. And because ViewLink doesn’t
use an index, its searches can take a long
time if you’re working with a large disk
with lots of data. Equally as bad, there
are no Magellan or ViewLink equiva¬
lents for Windows or Presentation Man¬
ager (PM).

Calling on Brute Force

Also considerable is the muscle needed
to run the current crop of software. Most
of us have traded in our 8088-based sys¬
tems for 80286s, and many have already
traded their 80286 systems for 80386s.
We do this to get merely adequate perfor¬
mance, while none of the software really
takes advantage of the 80286 or 80386
architectures. Even worse, as we move
up to systems that are more powerful
than were thought possible just a few
years ago, we still find ourselves wait¬
ing: waiting for AutoCAD to regenerate a
complex drawing; waiting for 1-2-3 to re¬
calculate a large spreadsheet; and wait¬
ing for Lotus Agenda to stop fiddling
with the heads on the hard disk drive.

Agenda is a good example of the prob¬
lem. Like other high-powered applica¬
tions, Agenda is sophisticated and com¬
plex, and it demands an extraordinary
amount of computing muscle. Yet aside
from the brute force that it commands, it

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F rom time to time we make the

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and services to our subscribers.

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BYTE Magazine

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270 Fall 1989 * BYTE IBM Special Edition

circle zzi on Keaaer service Lam

THE STATUS OF APPLICATIONS SOFTWARE: LATE

doesn’t really take advantage of the fea¬
tures that 32-bit hardware offers.

Just to use Agenda, you have to devote
a lot of time to learning it. In return, it
organizes information like no other soft¬
ware-making lists and doing mundane
chores for you automatically. It does so
much that, in its relentless scans of your
data looking for something it should do,
you’re left with a computer that responds
with all the speed of a snail.

So here we are, using high-powered
80386-based systems (and probably
80486 systems, soon) to run applications
that were designed years ago and written
for 8088-based systems. Software devel¬
opers for the PC have been somewhat
ambivalent toward OS/2 (and toward
Unix, for that matter), and they’ve been
less than eager to commit to using the
Micro Channel architecture. Rather than
write applications software directly for
these high-powered systems, developers
have instead sought to extend DOS, “en¬
hance” memory, and employ various
other tricks.

But users expect more, and, in fact,
they need more. They need programs
that can manage several tasks at once so
that they don’t have to. They need pro¬
grams that can work without conflict in a
heterogeneous environment of applica¬
tions. And they need software that can
work with other software, sharing infor¬
mation and files.

The Common Interface

Applications are making progress in the
area of user interfaces, however. Call it
Mac envy, if you like—PC users liked
what they saw on Apple’s Macintosh.
The Macintosh’s graphical interface
with pull-down menus was exactly what
the corporate world had been looking
for: an easy-to-learn system. For busi¬
nesses, the time and expense for training
people to use PCs has soared with no
ceiling in sight.

None of this is news, really. It’s just
that the Mac proved long ago that per¬
sonal computers could be made easier to
learn and use. But in those early days of
the Mac, there was no such interface for
the IBM PC. Turning to the next best
thing, the corporate world embraced
simple menuing software that simply
worked as a DOS shell to launch other
applications. Programs such as Magee
Enterprises’ AutoMenu filled a void left
by the software giants.

Meanwhile, virtually every applica¬
tion began to take on parts of the Mac in¬
terface. In many cases, developers sim¬
ply added menus. Unlike the Mac,
however, the PC had no standards for

menu styles. So some programs imitated
1-2-3’s menu format, calling it a de facto
standard. Others went further and pro¬
vided pull-down or pop-up menus. Ap¬
plications became easier to use, but for
the most part, they were all different.

Then came Digital Research’s GEM
and Microsoft’s Windows. After several
years, it appears Windows has gained a
toehold in the PC market. Corporate
buyers wanted PM for OS/2, but until it
became available they saw Windows as a
logical stepping-stone. The attraction
was that businesses could develop their
in-house applications on Windows today
and later adapt them to PM for OS/2.

Now, that corporate strategy is begin¬
ning to pay dividends to individual users.
Because of the significant number of sys¬
tems running Windows in the corporate
environment, developing applications for
Windows is more attractive to develop¬
ers. Granted, the number of Windows
programs so far is small, but the group
includes some really heavy hitters, such
as Aldus PageMaker, Micrografx De¬
signer, Samna Ami Professional, and
Microsoft Excel.

While the number of Windows pro¬
grams is growing, it’s not by leaps and
bounds. Although the user interface
issue has been all but resolved, applica¬
tions developers, worried about the flu¬
idity of the software market, have been
riding the fence between developing for
Windows and developing for OS/2. From
their point of view, developing for both
simultaneously isn’t practical. They
need to get their software products to
market as quickly as possible to compete,
and they need to concentrate their ef¬
forts; they can’t afford to have half a de¬
velopment team working in OS/2 and the
other half in Windows.

You might say that developers have
learned a lot from Lotus’s experiences in
trying to develop its 1-2-3 for a multitude
of platforms. The resulting delays have
cost that company more than just a little
overtime: Lotus also suffered a loss of
credibility, which was reflected in the
stock market.

It all comes down to this: Today’s ap¬
plications software for the PC is only
inches away from a common user inter¬
face. Although it seems inevitable that in
time that goal will be reached, it may not
happen as quickly as users would like.

Going in the Right Direction

In other areas, applications developers
have made more headway. Consider the
WYSIWYG phenomenon. Page-layout
systems such as Aldus PageMaker and

continued

From

Programmers
Wholesaler

, TM

Attention!

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MS Macro Assembler

150

Turbo Assembler/Debugger

150

C LANGUAGE-COMPILERS

Lattice C - 6.0

250

156

143

Microsoft C 5.1

450

287

283

Microsoft Quick C

Turbo C by Borland

COBOL

150

MS COBOL

900

599

569

Realia COBOL

995

799

769

DATABASE MANAGEMENT

Clarion

695

399

379

D the data language

395

339

289

Magic PC

299

259

229

Paradox 3.0

DBASE

725

489

479

Clipper Summer ’87

695

429

419

dBASE IV

795

489

479

FoxBASE ♦ 2.1

DBASE TOOLS

395

209

199

Clear* for dBASE

200

149

139

dBRIEF w/BRIEF

275 Save Save

dSalvage

100

R&R Relational Reportwriter

149

DEBUGGERS/DISASSEMBLERS

Periscope II

175

129

109

Periscope III

1395 1069

999

Soft Probe ll/TX

395

269

239

DEVELOPMENT TOOLS

CLEAR* FOR C

150

143

139

PC-Unt

139

PolyMake

149

129

123

PVCS Professional

EDITORS

395

339

309

BRIEF

195 Save

Save

Epsilon

195

139

109

KEDIT

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SPF/PC

245

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-BY1089*

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Fall 1989 271

THE STATUS OF APPLICATIONS SOFTWARE: LATE

1 ecause of
the significant number of systems
running Windows in the
corporate environment, developing
applications for Windows
is more attractive to developers.

“gives you all the C

language routines you
need to write an impres¬
sive scientific graphing
program of your own.
Highly recommended.*”
PC Magazine

IBM® PC version
(with source code) $395

Circle 289 on Reader Service Card

Macintosh® version
(no source code) $295

Circle 290 on Reader Service Card

For personal use only.

DEC® VT100/102/52
& Tektronix®
4010/4014/4105
| Terminal Emulator I

“its ease of use, high
resolution graphics,
emulation, and price
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* Full reprints on request

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Xerox’s Ventura Publisher have been the
catalysts* Although WYSIWYG on a PC
had been possible before, for many peo¬
ple those were the pioneering programs.
As page-layout programs, PageMaker’s
and Ventura Publisher’s existence de¬
pended on WYSIWYG.

Other applications have followed suit.
In fact, a whole subgenre of software-
presentation graphics—faces near ex¬
tinction merely because word proces¬
sors, spreadsheets, and other applica¬
tions have incorporated WYSIWYG
presentation features.

It’s really no wonder. After all, pre¬
sentation counts for a lot in today’s soci¬
ety, People give presentations to sell both
goods and ideas. Strangely, though,
many word processor developers try to
skirt around the WYSIWYG issue, say¬
ing that users don’t actually need
WYSIWYG during the writing process
and that users only need to see mono¬
spaced characters as they create text.
Their argument is that you can go back
later and make the whole thing look the
way you want it to.

In truth, that argument is just smoke to
hide the fact that most word processing
software is simply too slow to work in
WYSIWYG mode as you type. That’s
partly the fault of developers overbur¬
dening their products with a list of fea¬
tures so long that no one can remember or
use them all. Each of those features
steals precious memory and execution
speed from the application. So, you end
up with a word processor that can do
many things you’ll likely never ask it to
do but cannot show you how your printed
page will look—that is, of course, unless
you exit the edit mode and enter the
graphics mode to view your work, and
then exit the graphics mode and enter the
edit mode to continue writing. How silly
the whole process is—to treat one com¬
puter as if it were two machines, one for
writing and the other for layout.

There is, however, at least one notable

exception. Samna’s Ami lets you write
and edit in WYSIWYG mode. It’s also
the first real word processor for Micro¬
soft Windows. Others will certainly fol¬
low, and among them will be an offering
from Microsoft itself as well as an en¬
hanced version of Amt (Ami Profession¬
al). Another similar program, Len-
nane’s Describe Word Publisher, is
under development for OS/2 PM.

Advancements in
Number Crunching

Another area of software that’s been
moving forward is number crunching.
Spreadsheet applications have matured
somewhat, and users have recently wit¬
nessed the emergence of a whole new
generation of spreadsheet software. Gen¬
erally, the most significant improvement
is the three-dimensional worksheet,
which lets you work on several worksheet
pages at once. More and more of the
major spreadsheet programs are offering
that feature.

However, only one relatively new
spreadsheet, FormalSoffs ProQube,
provides true 3-D manipulation. Instead
of simply letting you calculate separate
pages, ProQube also lets you view your
spreadsheet data from any aspect—front-
to-back, side-to-side, or top-to-bottom.
Imagine, for example, that you have a
worksheet page for each month of the
year, and that it calculates your profit or
loss. Each of those pages would use the
same template, and if you stacked one on
top of another, you would have a “cube”
(actually a block) of spreadsheet cells.
Viewed from the front of this imaginary
cube, each layer of cells would represent
a particular month.

Any so-called 3-D spreadsheet can
handle that task. But with ProQube, you
can rotate the imaginary cube of data to
view, say, the net profit from each month
of the year. Or, from another angle, you
might view the net profit for the month of
May for each of the last five years.

272 Fail 1989 * B Y T E IBM Special Edition

THE STATUS OF APPLICATIONS SOFTWARE: LATE

Admittedly, with a little time, you
could program formulas in any other
spreadsheet to accomplish the same
tasks. But the conceptual difference is
quantum. ProQube lets you play “what-
if” in a new way—one that requires less
work on the part of the user. ProQube is a
real attempt at handling human perspec¬
tives of spreadsheet data.

But spreadsheets are not the only ap¬
plication area where number crunching
is being pushed. Another, perhaps less
obvious, application is CAD. A sophisti¬
cated CAD package typically places
more demands on a computer’s mathe¬
matical abilities than any statistical anal¬
ysis or equation solver package.

While 2-D drafting products, notably
AutoCAD and others like it, have been
around for some time, only recently have
solid modeling packages become avail¬
able. The difference is that the latter lets
you construct objects with blocks, cones,
spheres, and cylinders.

Let’s say, for example, that you need
to draw a hole for a vertical vent pipe that
goes through the roof of a house. That’s
not as simple as it might sound. Because
the roof is slanted and, therefore, the
pipe is not perpendicular to the roofs
plane, the hole is not a perfect circle.
And trying to calculate the precise shape
and size of the elliptical hole is not triv¬
ial. That’s where solid modeling comes
in. Instead of drawing a hole, you create
a cylinder the size of the vent pipe and
then simply place it through the slanted
roof. Then, through what’s called geo¬
metric subtraction, the solid modeling
program can erase the cylinder (and
everything that was in its way), leaving a
perfectly shaped ellipse.

From the user’s view, it’s all quite
simple, and it simply makes sense. Un¬
derneath it all, however, an awful lot of
computations are made. For now, you
can only find solid modeling systems at
the high end of the CAD spectrum. But
in time the technology will likely sift
down to applications such as graphics de¬
sign packages.

Future Applications

Understanding where we are in applica¬
tions software is, of course, only a pre¬
lude to knowing where we’re going. In
time, developers will overcome the ob¬
stacles of the hardware-software gap and
the operating-systems bottleneck and
will adhere uniformly to a graphical user
interface. The resulting applications
software will no doubt reflect the trade¬
offs and compromises that are made to
achieve those goals.

In addition, market-based external in¬

fluences will affect applications soft¬
ware, but they may not be what you
think. What will greatly affect U.S. ap¬
plications software development is the
foreign market—in particular, the long-
awaited European community market.

The European market after 1992 will
cause two major changes. The first that
users will probably see will be created by
the vast new opportunities for U.S. soft¬
ware firms to sell their products in Eu¬
rope. Although software developers will
face the problem of writing programs for
many languages (in fact, many already
do), they will also begin to produce ap¬
plications that have more “global” char¬
acteristics.

Until now, most software written in
the U.S. has been specifically tailored
for U.S. tastes. It directly reflected feed¬
back from U.S. users and their work hab¬
its and concepts. But as the European
market becomes more important to U.S.
software developers, it stands to reason
that future applications software will re¬
flect the needs of European users, too.

The change will probably be subtle.
Since users may all be introduced to new
and sometimes better ways of accom¬
plishing their tasks, eventually much
good will probably come of this gradual
change. On the downside, there is a risk
that developers will tend to overburden
programs with even more features.

The second change caused by the new
European market may come about more
slowly, but it could be much more signif¬
icant than the first. That change will be
the emergence of large European-based
software development houses. In fact,
European-based companies will be the
first to benefit from the new trade regu¬
lations there. Small but established soft¬
ware companies will suddenly have eas¬
ier access to a much wider market—one
that’s based in their own backyard. That
opportunity will inevitably lead to
growth in European-based software
companies, and that growth will thrust
them into a strong position for entering
and succeeding in the U.S. market. It
could be that the next Lotus- or Micro¬
soft-like software giant will be one that’s
based in Europe.

Then there is another external influ¬
ence to consider: the USSR. So far, the
only software to come from the USSR is a
game. Tetris, but that may soon change;
in fact, one U.S.-based company is al¬
ready planning to introduce an expert
system that was developed in the USSR.
With trade restrictions lifted for export¬
ing 80286-based computers to the So¬
viets, along with the Soviet desire to

continued

LIST

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FILE ADDONS

Btrieve ISAM

245

169

144

XQL

795

579

529

c-tree by Faircom

395

279

249

d-tree

495

319

299

r-tree

295

199

179

FORTRAN

MS FORTRAN

450

299

289

RM/FORTRAN

595

409

389

GRAPHIC ADDONS

GSS Development Toolkit

620

459

429

Halo '88

395

256

238

Hoops 3D Graphics

495

389

369

OBJECT-ORIENTED

Actor

495

399

379

Smalltalk^/

100

Zortech C++

150*

129 Save

OS-SUPPORT

DESQview

130

MS Windows/286

OTHER PRODUCTS

Carbon Copy Plus

195

115

104

CO/SESSION

249

179

159

HEADROOM by Helix

100

Link & Locate

350

249

219

Norton Utilities Advanced

150

PC Tools Deluxe

Remote2

195

104

SPREADSHEETS

1-2-3

495

299

289

Excel

495

239

229

Multiplan

195

139

129

Quattro

248

164

159

SuperCalc V

495

319

299

TEXT SCREENS ADDONS

C Worthy w/Forms

295 Save Save

Greenleaf DataWindows

295

179

159

Vermont Views

395

319

299

WORD PROCESSING

Miicropro International

495

259

249

Sprint

200

134

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WordPerfect

495

239

234

Prices subject to change without notice.

Ve have over 2000
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Call us! Our staff is ready and
willing to help.

Programmers

Wholesaler™

800-228-3736

CANADA
800-344-2495
FAX 617-472-4951

20 Fort Street
Quincy, MA 02169
Hours: M-F 8:30-5
Sat. 10-4 est

“BY1089"

B Y T E IBM Special Edition • Fall 1989 273

THE STATUS OF APPLICATIONS SOFTWARE: LATE

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da l ap ib

become a leader in world trade, you can
expect to see more Soviet-based applica¬
tions in the future. The first Soviet soft¬
ware wjll probably be Americanized ap¬
plications based on Soviet-developed
software engines. Such is the case with
the soon-to-be-released expert system.
The U.S. company is taking a Soviet-de¬
veloped expert-system engine and adding
a practical application interface for fi¬
nancial modeling.

The real wild card, however, is Japan.
So far, largely because of cultural differ¬
ences, Japan has found the American
software market impenetrable. It’s not
that Japan isn’t trying, though. The Japa¬
nese microcomputer industry is working
on a new universal operating system,
called TRON, and a new system of dis¬
tributing software electronically—via
phone, radio, and even vending ma¬
chines. If either effort materializes, Jap¬
anese software companies will find
themselves in an enviable position that
could allow them to dominate the appli¬
cations market. Their plan is grandiose
and perhaps unattainable. But given
Japan’s past successes in identifying,
penetrating, and ultimately controlling
world technology markets, the possibil¬
ity of continued success is very strong.

What the World Needs Now

Aside from those external market forces,
just where should applications software
be headed? In a nutshell, applications
need to be smarter and easier to use. You
should not have change your way of
thinking and conform to the way a par¬
ticular application program does things.
Tasks that are obvious should be done
automatically. And the user interface
should allow instinctive choices.

We need to see more programs like
Lotus Agenda that are smart enough to
do things automatically. Agenda is near¬
ly miraculous in the way it can take free¬
form information and automatically cat¬
egorize it; independently create project
reports, to-do lists, and tickler files; and
make associations between otherwise
differing subjects. In those respects.
Agenda comes the closest yet to imitating
a top-notch personal secretary.

But for all its glory. Agenda is slow,
and learning to use it is slower. In fact,
one piece of Agenda folklore claims that
White House Chief of Staff John Sununu,
a personal computer enthusiast himself,
considered Agenda for the Bush transi¬
tion team. But the learning curve was so
steep, and time for the transition team
was so short, that Agenda was discarded
in favor of another, simpler program.

We need more programs like Business

Forecast Systems’ Forecast Pro, a statis¬
tical forecaster that brings sophisticated
mathematical formulas within reach of
nonstatisticians. Forecast Pro has its own
expert system that analyzes your data
and then applies an appropriate forecast
model. Before Forecast Pro, it took a
real expert—someone with a degree in
statistics—to choose and run the correct
mathematical model just to project a
company’s business income.

We need more programs like ProQube
that let us view our numerical data in
ways that make sense to us, not just to our
computers. Likewise, we need CAD and
graphics design software that take advan¬
tage of solid modeling. Moreover, we
need solid modeling software that allows
the objects we create to have real-world
characteristics. That way, when we de¬
sign something, we can test its strength
and function in the real world without re¬
sorting to a separate analysis program.

We also need applications that inte¬
grate other applications. Forget the
dream of all-in-one applications for word
processing, database management,
spreadsheets, and so forth. Those inte¬
grated packages are nothing more than
modern-day jacks-of-all-trades in a
world of specialization. It’s just plain
smarter to buy separate programs that
precisely fit your needs. What we really
need is a new breed of software that can
oversee all those separate applications: a
kind of intelligent shell that watches over
your work, learning your routines.

Let’s say that every month you extract
the sales data from your inventory system
and import that into your forecaster to
project next month’s sales; then you im¬
port those projections into a spreadsheet
to do your financial planning; and then
you generate a report with your word
processor to reflect the outcome. An in¬
telligent shell would recognize the pat¬
tern and do the tasks for you at precisely
the same time every month. When such
intelligent software finally exists, all
you will have to do is remember to leave
the computer turned on.

The sad thing is that the personal com¬
puters that we have today, particularly
the 80386-generation systems, can han¬
dle the job. But our present-day applica¬
tions software, spawned by the 8088-
based generation, is generations behind,
and newer and better hardware is on the
way. The unfortunate truth is that we
cannot escape the generation gap. ■

Dennis Allen is a senior technical editor
for BYTE. He coordinates reviews of ap¬
plications software. You can reach him
on BIX as “ dallen. **

274 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Quality In...

Quality Out

No matter how well acquainted you are
with making important personal
computing decisions—decisions that may
involve hundreds of thousands of
dollars—the value of those decisions is
only as good as the value of your
information. Without quality
information—it’s hard to make quality
decisions.

BYTEweek, McGraw-Hill’s new weekly
newsletter for professionals in the
personal computer industry, is devoted to
giving you that quality information
through its timely and compact one-stop
news format.

This new publication provides you with
short easy-to-read selections of the most
important news and technological
developments of the past week. And
BYTEweek interprets this news with in-
depth commentary and analysis.

Subscribe to BYTEweek for quality
information. Remember, quality
in.. .quality out.

Subscribe now and take advantage
of the special one-year charter
subscription rate of $395 ($495
outside the U.S. and Canada). This
special price represents a savings of
$100 off the regular rate. Your
subscription includes 50 issues plus a
free three-month subscription to
BIX—a $49 value. Through BIX you
can directly access the Microbytes
Daily news service and communicate
with other BIX users.

Don’t miss this opportunity! In the
U.S., call BYTEweek’s toll-free number:
1-800-258-5485, in N.H. and outside
the U.S., call: 1-603-924-9281.

BYTEweek offers a money-back guarantee if you’re
not completely satisfied.

EVK.WI3BK H

News and Analysis for Professionals in the Personal
Computing Industry

One Phoenix Mill Lane. Peterborough. NH 03458

STOP BIT

Pete Wilson

The Wages of Sin

What price has the IBM PC world paid
for its compatibility?

ntel has released the 80486. A fine
piece of work, it manages to put a
complete 80386 system—80386
processor, 80387 FPU, cache,
memory management unit, and so on—
onto a single chip. And not only that, but
to substantially improve the perfor¬
mance of the various bits, the 80486
takes fewer clock cycles than the 80386
to do the most frequent instructions. At
constant clock rates, the 80486 is faster.
The 80486 version of the 80387 is quick¬
er than the real 80387, too. Not to men¬
tion that you get an 8K-byte cache (one-
eighth the main memory of most early
PCs) on-chip.

It is clear that the decision to make the
80486 an integrated 80386 system was
not made by accident. It does nice things
for users; it offers higher performance, a
lower chip count, floating-point, lower
power, and higher reliability. And all the
4.77-MHz 8088 software designed for
64K-byte machines will still work.

The 80486 does nice things for Intel,
too—the company doesn’t need to worry
about losing a slice of business to 80387
copiers (the math chip is built in), other
cache controller vendors (ditto), or
80486 cloners (since copying the whole
CPU is a serious undertaking).

The 80486 is a goody to vendors of
high-end machines, as well; all they
need to do is take a well-designed 32-bit
80386 system, make a few (if any)
changes to the design, and stick an 80486
into it. The result is a powerful new com¬

puter with an established software base,
and the whole thing costs no more (and
perhaps less) to make than an 80386.
Moreover, it can attract a much higher
price by virtue of its 80486-ness and
higher performance. Everybody wins,
right?

Well, no, they don’t. The big losers
are the users who buy the machine—be¬
cause they have always believed the story
about maintaining their “investment” in
software. They have always fought for
(and bought) a new machine that runs
their old floppy disks, unchanged. As a
result, they have bought themselves the
dead weight of decade-old technology.
The 80486 involves a fair amount of cir¬
cuitry; how much of it is there simply to
make the beast 8088-compatible, we can
only guess. But we do know that when
other companies have made machines—
or microprocessors—that didn’t have to
be 8088-compatible, they produced de¬
signs that used many fewer transistors to
go much faster. INMOS’s T400 family
uses about as many transistors as an 8086
but keeps pace with an 80386. Sun’s
SPARC architecture (in its various
guises) and MIPS’s R2000/R3000 pro¬
cessors use more transistors than an
80386 for much higher performance.
And now, the 80486 isn’t even the fastest
machine that Intel produces.

Indeed, the 80486 is the slowest of the
three high-performance introductions
this year. The most prominent of these
was the 860, which, despite being gross¬

ly overhyped by the rumor mill (and,
possibly, by Intel’s marketing) is easily
twice as fast—and perhaps three times as
fast—as the 80486. And the new member
of the 960 family, which tries to execute
three instructions per clock cycle under
reasonable conditions, is much faster
than the 80486.

Yes, IBM PC/MS-DOS fans, your ad¬
diction to the past has cost you a drop in
performance of 50 percent or more. If
you had been happy to eschew the past
when better machines turned up, you
wouldn’t have encouraged the software
vendors to live in the past. Then, per¬
haps, they would have decided that there
was real money to be made in portable
software. Manufacturers might have
created operating systems that added new
and useful facilities (such as graphics)
but that were simple and clean enough
not to be bound to just one proprietary
piece of hardware. (Of course, too much
silliness in the operating-system spec
would have been ignored by the software
vendors.) Then you could have bought
this year’s smart new machine with the
assurance that your old software could be
upgraded to the new machine for a nomi¬
nal fee, and we’d all have much nicer,
faster—and probably cheaper—com¬
puters than we do. ■

Pete Wilson is a senior engineer at
Prisma f Inc. (Colorado Springs, CO).
He previously worked on the design team
for the INMOS transputer.

276 Fall 1989

BYTE IBM Special Edition

Discover

Parallel

Processing

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Since 1986. the Micro Way Monopuler has
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COSMOS"/M

Microway stocks parallel languages from 3U Logical Systems and
Inmos. These include one Fortran, two Cs, Occam, Pascal, and
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One of the most fruitful areas for parallel processing is finite element
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running on a Quadputer took just 300 seconds to solve a problem which
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40 minutes. Contact MicroWay for information on COSMOS/M.

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laxeli

maxell

The

Evolution
of the

And then...
Maxell created
the RD Series.

rvvMkr cntwr* • 11

Never before has this level of Reliability
and Durability been available in floppy disks.
Introducing the new RD Series from Maxell.
Twice the durability of the disks you’re now using.
Twice the resistance to dust and dirt.

And the RD Series is ten times more reliable
than conventional floppy disks.

The Gold Standard has always meant maximum
safety for your data. Now it means even more.

THE GOLD STANDARD

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